The State Council’s 2022 Legislative Work Plan was released on July 14, listing 16 laws and 16 regulations to be drafted and revised this year. The proposed policies span an array of sectors, including financial services, public health, energy and environment, cybersecurity, IP, food security, and biotechnology, building the necessary legislative foundation for reaching objectives outlined in the 14th Five-Year Plan. The full plan is available here.
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August 10th, 2022
In the Rose Garden on August 9, President Joe Biden signed into law the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, commonly referred to as “CHIPS+” or “Skinny CHIPS.” The bipartisan legislation provides $52 billion in mandatory funding to promote and support semiconductor manufacturing in the United States, as well as billions of dollars authorized for various existing and new programs at the National Science Foundation and research and development funds for the Department of Energy. The legislation is...
August 10th, 2022
On July 28, Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping met for their fifth time. They spoke for 2 hours and 17 minutes. There was consecutive translation, which limited conversation to a bit more than an hour, or 34 minutes for each leader. Different from previous calls, which were more friendly, the recent call was frosty or “frank” as diplomats say. According to our sources, Xi was very forceful, and the quote “those who play with fire will get burned” has been repeated many times.
July 27th, 2022
China’s Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) recently underwent its biggest change in 14 years with a new amendment passed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on June 24. USCBC has been tracking China's AML enforcement and legislative updates in the past years; many of the changes in the final version were also included in an earlier version of the amendment that was released last October. The amendment, and newly established State Anti-Monopoly Bureau, foreshadow tougher...
July 27th, 2022
On July 7, the Standardization Administration of China (SAC) along with 15 other ministries and other bodies released its Action Plan for Implementing the National Standardization Development Outline. The plan contains 33 directives to various government stakeholders in China for completion by the end of 2023, tasking them with different objectives built around strengthening standards development in China. The plan provides near term steps to implement the National Standardization...
July 27th, 2022
In the second quarter of 2022, multiple key ministries within the central government announced leadership changes at the ministerial and vice-ministerial levels. Most of the leadership shuffles occurred once officials reached the retirement age limit or transitioned to pursue leadership roles at municipal or provincial governments. The General Administration of Customs named Yu Jianhua (俞建华) to replace Ni Yuefeng (倪岳峰) as minister after Ni’s departure to Hebei provincial government. Yu is a...
July 25th, 2022
Much has happened in Washington in recent weeks regarding the once comprehensive China legislative package. We expect Congress to pass a slimmed-down version before August recess. And just as important as what has happened is what hasn’t yet happened. We have not seen any movement on the Section 301 tariffs or a new Section 301 investigation. We are unaware of any shipments being detained by US Customs and Border Protection under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. Both are things we had...
July 13th, 2022
Cases of COVID-19 are resurging across mainland China after a month of relative stability. Current hotspots include Gansu, Shanghai, Shandong, and Henan, and fresh lockdowns and other restrictions are impacting millions of people. From July 1 to 12, China reported a total of 4,063 cases, affecting 16 provinces and 47 cities. Among these, Anhui reported the highest number of infections and caused spillover cases in its neighboring province, Jiangsu, affecting mostly Wuxi and Xuzhou. These...
July 13th, 2022
Since taking office, President Biden has weighed how to proceed with the Section 301 tariffs imposed during the Trump administration that remain in place today, covering over $370 billion worth of Chinese goods. An internal debate within the Biden team has delayed a final decision, with one side supporting at least some tariff relief—for the sake of easing inflation and consumer prices—and the other arguing that lifting tariffs will reduce US leverage in trade negotiations with China.
July 13th, 2022
In late June, President Xi Jinping outlined a bold vision for the future of China’s approach to data governance, stressing that data is an essential resource for economic development, and one that must be regulated by the state in order to protect national security, personal information, and trade secrets. These remarks, combined with a flurry of recent policy developments, capture the contrasting logic driving Chinese data policy.
