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...
China Market Intelligence
Top Stories
October 1st, 2024
September 25th, 2024
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...
September 25th, 2024
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....
September 25th, 2024
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...
September 13th, 2024
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...
September 11th, 2024
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....
September 11th, 2024
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.
September 11th, 2024
Lawmakers in the US House of Representatives convened on September 9 to vote on a series of China-related proposals that have been circulating since March, including measures aimed at addressing China’s alleged unfair trade practices and other actions deemed threatening to US national security. According to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), lawmakers are attempting to use this so-called “China week” to counter China “with every tool at [their] disposal,” with the goal of pushing out a...
August 27th, 2024
On July 25, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published proposed rules that, if implemented as written, would significantly expand US export controls over US person activities and previously uncontrolled items. The rules restrict exports, re-exports, and in-country transfers of goods, software, and technologies to four categories of end users in China and other countries that the United States maintains an arms embargo on.
August 2nd, 2024
Under the leadership of Chair Raj Subramaniam, seven USCBC board directors recently completed our annual board mission to China. See our public statement on the trip here.
