Following its first quarterly economic contraction in recent history, the Chinese government continues to take a relatively cautious approach to stimulating economic recovery. While economic activity picked up somewhat in April, China will likely spend the remainder of 2020 focused on stabilizing businesses and employment, but avoiding a 2008-style, credit-fueled infrastructure stimulus.
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June 10th, 2020
June 10th, 2020
On April 26, China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) issued draft amendments to the Copyright Law for public comment until June 13. The original law was adopted in 1990 and the current version was last amended in 2010. The State Council solicited public comments on potential revisions to the law in 2012 and 2014, but revision efforts stalled after that. If passed in the current form and fully enforced, the amendments would improve the intellectual property environment...
May 28th, 2020
Premier Li Keqiang closed out the annual session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) today with a press conference. Though US-China tensions are running high following the NPC’s decision on Hong Kong legislation, Li championed US-China cooperation in his closing remarks. Over the course of the week, NPC delegates also determined the legislative agenda for 2020, which includes making progress on export controls, patent protection, and data security.
May 27th, 2020
Recent actions by the US Department of Commerce to further tighten restrictions for technology sales to Huawei and its chipmaker HiSilicon have rekindled fears that China may finally publish an Unreliable Entity List (UEL). In a report published shortly following Commerce’s actions to tighten US export control regulations, a Chinese tabloid linked to the government threatened that several US companies would soon be added to an imminent UEL in retaliation.
May 27th, 2020
More than three months into the implementation of the Phase One trade agreement, progress has been mixed and uncertainty about the deal’s efficacy and durability is on the rise. While China has taken steps to provide greater market access for US agricultural products, improve intellectual property protection, and liberalize financial services, impacts from COVID-19 and tariffs led China to fall short of its purchasing goals by more than half.
May 27th, 2020
A dispute regarding the rights of US commercial airlines to service flights between the United States and China, and ongoing entry restrictions for foregin visa and residence permit holders, have continued to hamper the ability to return to China. While both situations could change abruptly, US businesses with China operations should account for continued uncertainty about when and how to get staff members back to China.
May 26th, 2020
The National People’s Congress (NPC) has started meeting, following a two-month delay. This meeting attracts some 3,000 legislators and officials from all over China to gather in one room in Beijing; it epitomizes confidence that China’s COVID-19 epidemic is under control for the time being. Four themes will dominate the session: (a) addressing the impact of COVID-19, (b) China’s global status in an era of US-China confrontation, (c) China’s 2020 economic growth trajectory, and (d) continued...
May 22nd, 2020
On May 22, China’s National People’s Congress (NPC), kicked off its annual session, which had been postponed since March due to COVID-19. As scheduled, Premier Li Keqiang gave a briefing on the 2020 Government Work Report, which reviews performance in the previous year and provides an outline of work for the year to come.
May 13th, 2020
US-China trade plummeted in the first quarter of 2020 as global economic activity slowed dramatically due to COVID-19. Recently released US trade data show that goods imports from China dropped 28.4 percent year on year, while exports dropped 15.4 percent. US-China trade had already suffered in 2019 compared to years prior as a result of tariffs enacted by both countries.
May 13th, 2020
On April 27, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), with 11 other ministries, released the final version of the Cybersecurity Review Measures (“measures”) which will build on a patchwork of documents implementing China’s Cybersecurity Law. The measures will govern the process for regulators to assess supply chain vulnerability of certain network systems that could impact China’s national security. The measures will go into effect on June 1, replacing the network security measures, a...
