Research & Analysis

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will be in China from August 27 to 30 for a series of meetings with Chinese officials and US business leaders in Beijing and Shanghai. In anticipation of the trip, Raimondo met with China’s Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng this week, but Commerce’s press release offered little detail on what was discussed.

The last few months have seen multiple notable developments affecting the transportation industry. Earlier this month, China and the United States took action to increase flights between the two countries, and US and Chinese airlines have since announced plans to increase service.

On Thursday, the International Trade Administration (ITA) announced preliminary anti-dumping duties of 122.5 percent on tin mill steel imported from China, 7.02 percent on imports from Germany, and 5.29 percent on imports from Canada.

In the last few months, there has been a moderate slowdown in industrial policies for high tech issued at the central and local levels. China’s government reorganization after the Two Sessions has meant that there will be a pause as bureaucrats adjust to their new roles.

On Wednesday, the Biden administration dropped its long-expected executive order (EO) on outbound investment. While the regulations will not go into effect until a public comment process is finished, the EO marks a significant change in US policy on capital flows into China, particularly US investments into three covered sectors—semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing.

On August 9, the Biden administration released its long-expected executive order (EO) on outbound investment, along with an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) from the Treasury Department. While the EO is narrower than other proposals seen in recent years, it still represents a significant change in US policy.

As part of the ongoing efforts to engage with Beijing, on Tuesday, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller confirmed the Biden administration has extended an invitation to China’s newly appointed Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, to visit Washington. Wang, who held the same position from 2013 through 2022, replaced Qin Gang.

In recent months, China has seen significant high-level personnel changes at both central and provincial levels. On July 25, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee voted to remove Qin Gang from the post of foreign minister and reappoint his predecessor Wang Yi, current director of the CCP Central Foreign Affairs Office.

On March 16, the CCP Central Committee and the State Council released a reform plan for Party and state institutions as part of the annual Two Sessions conference. The plan calls for the creation of a new data regulator, which this article refers to as the National Data Bureau, to consolidate the management of China’s burgeoning data markets.

Following the release of China’s weak second quarter economic data, the government unleashed a slew of measures and statements in support of spurring economic growth, though falling short of issuing a large-scale stimulus package. China continues to face weakening domestic demand, waning private sector confidence, rising youth unemployment, a beleaguered property sector, and mounting local government debt.