At a tech conference last month, Minister of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) Jin Zhuanglong praised the advancement of China’s domestically-developed software, AI, and associated technologies. He promised to expand government support for the ecosystem as part of China’s xinchuang—or innovation technology application innovation (ITAI)—initiative. Xinchuang refers to a loosely coordinated set of programs aimed at replacing foreign-made IT products with domestic alternatives by 2027...
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US and Chinese officials convened in early September in Tianjin, China for the second US-China Commercial Issues Working Group (CIWG), marking another step in the iterative process of addressing commercial concerns between the two countries. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Marisa Lago led the US delegation to China through a series of meetings focused on policy and regulatory issues affecting USCBC member companies that conduct business with China.
As tariffs and other trade restrictions between the United States and China continue to rise, US policymakers are flagging a related trend: an increased manufacturing presence of Chinese firms in third countries—particularly in Mexico and Vietnam. Some accuse these firms of deliberate “country hopping” to skirt US tariffs on imports from China and enter the US market at lower tariff rates. With new Section 301 tariffs implemented last month and both presidential tickets doubling down on...
China’s growth has continued to stagnate this year as it grapples with a protracted real estate downturn, local government debt, and record youth unemployment, which have all resulted in an acute crisis of confidence. Chinese consumers, who were already inclined to save and now face poor job prospects and falling wages, have become even more cautious with spending. In an effort to offset the property slump, Beijing has expanded investments in manufacturing and increased exports. The...
Accessing China’s vast public procurement market continues to be difficult for US companies. Procurement issues appeared in this year’s list of top 10 challenges for USCBC members for only the third time in our survey’s history. While few companies report new policies preventing access, the rise of informal barriers combined with the effects of geopolitical tensions with the United States and China’s broader economic slowdown appear to be inhibiting the ability of American companies to gain...
Six months after China’s internet regulator published new rules on data flows, cross-border data transfer (CBDT) remains a top challenge for US companies operating in the country. Sector-specific issues and the introduction of free-trade zone CBDT rules are presenting new challenges to companies even as national-level compliance burdens have eased. As a result, the relaxation has been uneven and can be better described as an evolution of compliance challenges rather than universal relief....
The impending presidential and congressional transition in the United States is prompting American policymakers to push for final approval on long-debated tariff policies, in part in an effort to win voters. The initiatives in question—the final Section 301 determination, new de minimis rule, and ongoing debate over China’s trade status with the United States—are all in different stages but stem from similar motives. And regardless of the election results, strategies like these to tighten...
US-China trade continued to decline in the first half of 2024, reaching 2.3 percent year-over-year after both US exports to and imports from China contracted. That said, this is the slowest contraction in overall US-China trade since the second half of 2022. The relatively slower contraction occurred amid a return to growth for US-worldwide trade, which increased 2.7 percent, and reflects increases in consumer spending and inventory growth in the United States and stronger industrial output...
China is hoping to replicate Silicon Valley-style innovation through its policy support for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Several initiatives released this past summer by government ministries provide investment incentives and low-cost financing for qualified domestic companies that innovate new technologies. These initiatives target all kinds of companies, from startups to “little giants,” with the goal of boosting innovation and securing China’s domestic supply chains....
On August 29, Jake Sullivan concluded his first trip to China as national security advisor, where he met with several senior Chinese officials as part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication between Washington and Beijing. Sullivan held over 14 hours of discussions over three days with officials including President Xi Jinping, Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, and Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia.