Events Archive

The US-China Business Council assembled an outstanding program of panels, speakers and opportunities to network. Not in recent memory has there been so much news to digest and make sense of. On Wednesday, February 5 the US-China Business Council hosted our Forecast 2020 conference to help businesses prepare for the year ahead. Panel and keynote topics included implications of the Wuhan coronavirus, national security, operational issues, the legislative agenda, the phase one agreement and prospects for a phase two, and a keynote address from Deputy USTR Jeffrey Gerrish.

Experts in their fields addressed:

• Keynote Address
  • ​Ambassador Jeffrey Gerrish, Deputy United States Trade Representative
• Implications of the Wuhan Coronavirus
  • ​Yanzhong Huang, Senior Fellow for Global Health, Council on Foreign Relations 
• China's 2020 Economic Forecast
  • Henry McVey, Member & Head of Global Macro & Asset Allocation, CIO of KKR Balance Sheet, KKR
• China's Business Landscape and Key Operating Challenges
  • Tony Chen, Partner, Jones Day
  • Erin Ennis, Senior Director, Global Public Policy, Dell Technologies
  • Tim Fenton, Vice President, Global Government Relations, Thermo Fisher Scientific
• National Security Issues Affecting the Bilateral Commercial Relationship
  • Grayson Yeargin, Partner, Jones Day
  • Eileen Albanese, Director, Office of National Security and Technology Transfer Controls, Bureau of Industry and Security
  • John Larkin, President, Larkin Trade International
• China on the Hill—Congressional Perspectives on China​
  • Sally Laing, International Trade Counsel, Senate Finance Committee
  • Mayur Patel, International Trade Counsel, Senate Finance Committee

China is in the process of implementing an overarching system that evaluates companies on a wide range of metrics to determine their reliability and incentivize desired behavior. This corporate social credit system (SCS) is slated for roll out in 2020, but much is still unclear about how it will impact the business environment.

USCBC hosted a discussion on China’s evolving corporate SCS and how it will impact foreign companies doing business there. Panelists included Jamie Horsley, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution and a senior fellow at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center; Jun Wei, the chair of Hogan Lovell’s Greater China practice; Michael Sutherland, an analyst in international trade and finance at the Congressional Research Service; and Kendra Schaefer, a partner at Trivium China. The panel was moderated by Steven Robinson, a partner at Hogan Lovells.

China’s government procurement environment has been a dynamic space recently, with both opportunities and challenges for foreign companies. A new Foreign Investment Law promised fairer treatment for foreign companies in government procurement and, after a five-year delay, China has submitted a new market access offer in its negotiations to join the World Trade Organization’s Government Procurement Agreement (GPA). At the same time, the Party has reportedly circulated a directive ordering all government offices and public institutions to replace foreign technology within three years.

USCBC hosted a discussion on government procurement in China, covering the importance of the Chinese market to US companies, the implications of China’s latest offer to join the GPA, and some of the challenges that US companies face in government procurement on the ground in China. Panelists included Erin Ennis, senior director for global public policy at Dell, Jean Heilman Grier, trade principal at Djaghe, LLC and former senior procurement negotiator at the Office of the US Trade Representative, and Patrick Lozada, director for global policy at the Telecommunications Industry Association. Stephen Kho, a partner at Akin Gump, moderated the panel.

Results of the Pew Research Center’s recent survey work indicate that most countries continue to prioritize their relationships with the United States, with more also viewing the United States as a top ally. That being said, publics globally, especially in emerging markets, report largely positive views of China’s economic stature and influence on their own countries’ economies. Their views of the United States’ economic influence are roughly on par with their views of China’s. Pew Research Center’s Laura Silver and Kat Devlin gave an insightful presentation on global perceptions of the United States and China’s relative economic power and influence.