Last month, the 14th National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), China's top legislative body, released its five-year legislative plan for 2023 to 2028. The plan outlines a total of 130 legislative projects—the highest total since the NPCSC released its first five-year legislative plan in 1993, which had a total of 152 items.
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Dear USCBC members,
I write to update you on recent positive bilateral developments, USCBC’s efforts on your behalf, and our expectations for the rest of this year in Washington, DC. I also write to notify you of an upcoming change in USCBC senior leadership.
US-China bilateral trade in goods saw a sharp contraction during the first half of 2023 after reaching a record high the year prior. The contraction in bilateral trade occurred amid a broader, albeit more modest, contraction in US-worldwide trade in goods, stemming from global and domestic economic woes that have led the WTO, IMF, and World Bank to forecast slower growth for global trade in 2023.
In 2020, the Chinese government sought to rein in real estate developers’ high debt levels with the introduction of the “three red lines,” which imposed borrowing limits on real estate firms. While the move was meant to stabilize the industry, developers and local governments alike have been under financial pressure as developers face declining property sales and local governments see decreasing revenue from land sales.
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.
In recent months, China has seen significant high-level personnel changes at both central and provincial levels. On July 28, Liu Liehong (刘烈宏), the former chair of state-owned telecom firm China Unicom, was appointed as the inaugural chief of the newly established National Data Bureau.