A representative from AmCham Hong Kong declined to comment. Representatives from AmCham China did not return a request for comment.

The White House, in a statement to CNBC, said the administration does not seek a trade war with China.

“The goal of United States trade actions is not to harm China’s economy or start a trade war, but to get China to follow through on allowing fair competition and stop their unfair trade practices that have been hurting the American workers for years,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Lindsay Walters said.

The strong words from the vice chairman of CPPCC comes just a month after Trump imposed $200 billion on Chinese imports on top of the $50 billion levy the administration piled onto the country earlier this year. The new trade barrier went into effect in September at a 10 percent rate and is expected to climb to 25 percent in 2019.

China has retaliated with tariffs on up to $60 billion worth of U.S. items, numbering over 5,000. Trump has said he’s considering ramping up the trade war with another round of over $257 billion worth of tariffs but that threat has yet to materialize.

Although it is unclear who else attended the gathering, AmCham Hong Kong’s executive committee is full of major players in various industries. Its chairman, Jack Lange, is a partner at the international law firm, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, according to the group’s website.

Other notable members of AmCham Hong Kong include Citigroup, PayPal, FedEx and Universal Pictures.