China hopes to work closer with U.S. firms in NEVs, biopharma -industry minister

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China hopes U.S. firms will strengthen their cooperation with Chinese companies in the areas of new energy vehicles, biopharma and next-generation information and communication technology, the country's industry minister said on Monday.

Xiao Yaqing, China's Minister of Industry and Information Technology, made the comments at a video conference meeting with the chairman of the U.S.-China Business Council, according to a statement posted on the ministry's official WeChat account.

Xiao also said that U.S. and Chinese firms were interdependent in the global industrial chain and that China welcomes U.S. companies to expand their investment in China, the statement said.

(Reporting by Brenda Goh and Roxanne Liu; Editing by Catherine Evans)