The U.S. business community hopes the proposed pact, which would have to be approved by the Senate to go into force, will open up more of the Chinese economy to U.S. investment. “China maintains ownership restrictions on American and other foreign companies in about 100 sectors, including manufacturing, services, energy, and agriculture,” John Frisbie, president of the U.S.-China Business Council, wrote recently in the China Business Review. “To put it simply, investment barriers in China are market access barriers. A BIT would significantly open markets for American companies.”