Opening-up

On his first trip to China more than four decades ago, Greenberg and his wife, Corinne, along with two colleagues, visited the Great Wall, the old city of Beijing, and Shanghai. They saw many bicycles and Chinese people who were curious about people from the US.

Comparing his first impression of the country with his current one, he said: "It's like night and day. Like a country I never visited before, looks totally different. Take Shanghai as an example, compared to New York, Shanghai is much more advanced in many ways."

Recognizing the important role China's reform and opening-up policy has played in the country's 40 years of development, Greenberg said President Xi Jinping meant it when he promised at the Boao Forum in April that China would further open up.

"China's opening-up policy would benefit everybody. China and the rest of the world," Greenberg said.

Regarding whether China is moving fast enough to open its market to other countries, he said: "There will always be some problems like that. We have to deal with problems. They (China) have to deal with the problems.

"My belief is China benefits from companies introducing new products in China. I'm confident that over time we can work out all these issues. It benefits both countries."

He said he believes the China-US relationship is the most important in the world.

"It's a much safer world with US and China as allies, friends and trading partners than with anybody else," he said.

He suggested China should have a more evenhanded approach to foreign companies, especially US businesses in China. "It's not a complaint from me. I'm more concerned with the relationship," he said.

Greenberg added that he hopes US President Donald Trump and Xi will meet and personally resolve issues. "I believe it's in their hands to do it, and I think they can do that," he said. "I'll do my part as much as I can to help in that regard. I believe it's important to both countries, for the future of the world."