Since China first announced its intent to create a digital currency electronic payment (DCEP) scheme, the “digital yuan,” back in 2016, the initiative has been subject to disparate claims about its connection to cryptocurrency and its potential to revolutionize global finance and threaten the US dollar. While China has yet to release a legal framework for DCEP, official speeches and expert analysis indicate that China aims to use DCEP to rein in its mobile payment sector and gain greater...
China Market Intelligence
Top Stories
June 16th, 2021
The US Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) passed the Senate last week by a vote of 68–32, indicating strong, bipartisan support. The nearly 2400-page bill pulls together several separate proposals into one sweeping China strategy. If passed into law, USICA would codify some of the provisions in President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan, including investments in domestic research and innovation, federal procurement of US-made goods, and a realignment of US diplomatic and economic strategy...
June 16th, 2021
The National People’s Congress Standing Committee’s most recent session closed last Thursday with the sudden release of a new Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law (Chinese text). The law, which was under review but had not been disclosed until shortly before its official publication, expands China’s arsenal for countering what it considers unjustified or discriminatory sanctions or other extraterritorial actions taken by foreign powers. The release of new tools for retaliation coincides with a flurry...
June 11th, 2021
On June 10, 2021, China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee passed the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law (in English and Chinese), which immediately entered into force. The law creates a legal basis for the Chinese government to employ countermeasures if China assesses that foreign nations have violated international law with “discriminatory restrictive measures” that harm Chinese citizens or interfere with China’s internal affairs, among other conditions. It also adds to the Chinese...
June 9th, 2021
Yesterday, the White House released the findings of its 100-day review of four critical supply chains mandated under a February executive order. The report mentions China hundreds of times, giving significant attention to vulnerabilities posed by China’s dominant position in four supply chains that are critical to the United States: semiconductors, high-capacity batteries, critical minerals and materials, and pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. The report includes...
June 2nd, 2021
For months, several US and European lawmakers, as well as human rights watch groups, have advocated for boycotting the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in some fashion. Supporters of a boycott are motivated by China’s human rights record, particularly when it comes to the treatment of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang and the erosion of democracy in Hong Kong. Though no country has announced a boycott as of yet, calls to use the games as an opportunity to protest China’s behavior are growing...
June 2nd, 2021
Late last year, USCBC member companies began voicing concerns about the pricing and availability of ocean freight shipping containers bound for overseas markets from China. According to one shipping company, the market asking price had increased more than fivefold since 2019. In turn, US-based exporters are also having trouble securing containers, as shipping companies are finding it more cost effective to simply ship empty containers back to China. The shortage has posed a significant...
June 2nd, 2021
The Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) and Data Security Law (DSL) will form two key pillars of China’s data regime, alongside the landmark Cybersecurity Law (CSL) from 2016. Despite previous input from the foreign business community, the revised drafts leave lingering questions regarding key definitions, localization requirements, and restrictions on cross-border data flows. While the two laws cover different types of data, they present similar compliance challenges for...
May 19th, 2021
The interim final rule (IFR) on Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services (ICTS) Supply Chain went into effect on March 22, granting broad authority to the secretary of commerce to review virtually any ICT transaction that is deemed to pose a risk to national security. Already, multiple unnamed Chinese companies have been subpoenaed under the IFR’s authority, raising questions about what avenues will be provided to industry to mitigate their exposure to the ICTS...
May 19th, 2021
To date, the US Defense Department has designated 44 companies a “communist Chinese military company” (CMCC), a label that prohibits US investment in these companies and imposes other restrictions on their US activities. Judicial proceedings, however, are calling into question the legal validity of recent actions taken against CMCCs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a law which grants sweeping emergency powers to the president. If the cases proceed and the courts...
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Congressional Legislative Tracker
The USCBC Government Affairs team continuously monitors China-related bills and broader legislative trends spanning a variety of issue areas, including trade and investment, national security, telecommunications, and human rights.
