China’s top legislative body recently announced a debt swap plan that will relieve local governments from paying a total of RMB 12 trillion (USD 1.66 trillion) of off-balance sheet debt. This hidden debt is tied to local government financing vehicles that are used to circumvent official debt limits. The announcement took place at the conclusion of the highly anticipated meeting of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee on November 8.
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Former president and now President-elect Donald Trump’s resounding victory will have serious implications for US companies doing business in China. With Republicans taking control of the Senate and keeping control of the House, the president-elect believes he has a mandate to govern and a Congress to support him. Companies can expect a flurry of unpredictable rhetoric and aggressive measures aimed at rebalancing the US-China trade relationship and further protecting US national interests. In...
China’s new Export Control Regulations on Dual-Use Items, released in October, grant the Chinese government the authority to require a license to export certain covered products, technologies, and services that are found in, or can be used to produce, certain chemical, biological, missile, and nuclear items (CBRN). The rules maintain lists of covered products and covered end users and specify license application criteria and procedures, superseding four separate existing regulations on CBRN...
USCBC remains committed to our members and our mission and will navigate this latest political season of change with a steady hand, as we have done before. We will continue our work as an advocate for you and a constructive resource to policymakers to advance the many benefits of a strong and stable US-China commercial relationship, not only for America but also the world.
On September 26, the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a proposed rule on securing the information and communications technology and services (ICTS) supply chain for connected vehicles (CVs). The proposed rule would prohibit several types of ICTS transactions, most notably the import of Chinese CVs and certain hardware absent an authorization from BIS. It is the first in what is expected to be a series of BIS rules prohibiting companies in the United...
Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on October 18 reveal that China’s GDP grew by 4.6 percent in the third quarter of the year, the slowest pace since early 2023. While the figure beat expectations, the slowing trajectory suggests that the unprecedented growth China has enjoyed over the past few decades will be a thing of the past unless it implements more aggressive countercyclical measures.
On September 30, China’s State Council released its finalized Network Data Security Management Regulations, set to take effect on January 1, 2025. The regulations are now the highest-level administrative guidance for implementing the Cybersecurity Law, the Data Security Law, and the Personal Information Protection Law. While rules on cross-border data transfer went largely unchanged, there were notable adjustments to the definition of important data, compliance obligations for large...
Today, USCBC submitted comments to the Bureau of Industry Security (BIS) at the Department of Commerce regarding proposed rules on military, military support, intelligence, and foreign security end users. USCBC is supportive of efforts to protect national security, but the Council is concerned that these rules will harm trade in many non-sensitive sectors and potentially result in commercial decoupling with China.
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...
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.