The US-China Business Council (USCBC) hosted its annual China Operations Conference for 2019. This conference is USCBC’s biggest event of the year in China and brings together leading experts, academics, executives and policy makers to discuss the most important developments relevant to doing business in China. This year’s conference covered the future of US-China relations, intellectual property rights enforcement, and give an exclusive first look at preliminary findings from USCBC’s member inquiry into best practices on data protection. 

The US Ambassador, Chinese officials, think tank scholars and industrial players spoke on various of topics including bilateral relations, economic outlook, competition policy, best practice on IP enforcement and protection, cybersecurity and data protection. Topics include:

• The Future of US-China Relations – With rising US-China trade tensions, there is concern that even in a post trade-deal scenario, US-China relations will continue to deteriorate. But are things truly that pessimistic? Join our panel featuring senior experts on US-China relations to discuss how bilateral ties are likely to develop for the foreseeable future and what companies should be doing to prepare.
• China’s Financial Liberalization and Implications for American Companies – China’s financial sector has undergone a recent round of liberalizations opening up a new chapter in China’s economic reform and creating new opportunities and challenges for US companies in China. Listen to senior policy makers in the Chinese government offer their perspectives and advice on what these liberalizations mean for the future of China’s economic development and its implications for multinational companies in China.
• Preliminary Findings on Best Practices for Data Protection – China’s Cybersecurity Law continues to raise questions about Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) classifications, Personally Identifiable Information (PII), and data localization and cross-border data flow. For the past two months USCBC researchers have interviewed members to understand best practices for addressing these challenges. Join USCBC as we provide an exclusive first look at preliminary findings from our research.
• Senior Executive Panel: Competition Policy – Get an update on China’s Competition Policy regime including analysis from senior executives on China’s competition neutrality and fair competition review.
• IP Enforcement Knowledge-Share and Best Practices – Protection of intellectual property (IP) is crucial to the success of all businesses regardless of industry and has been a major point of contention in US-Sino trade relations. Join this panel of senior executives to get a firsthand look at how IP enforcement cases have played out for American companies in China and get insight into what your company can be doing to protect its IP and achieve continued commercial success.

Sean Buckley, Scott Hulsey, and Beau Barnes, attorneys at Kobre & Kim joined USCBC for a discussion on national security. They shared their deep background in national security issues and explained what this new paradigm in US-China relations means for US companies who do business in China.

In the US-China relationship, every issue today seems to involve “national security.” While national security concerns were once limited to core military and intelligence interests, today no policy area is exempt – from visiting Chinese engineering students and the next generation of wireless network infrastructure to the online dating app Grindr and Washington, DC’s new subway cars. This radical shift in how the US Government views the rise of China has reverberated throughout the commercial and legal world, changing how firms and individuals approach operations, investment, and travel in both countries.

The US-China Business Council (USCBC) hosted experts from business, academic, and policymaking sectors for our 46th Annual Membership Meeting on June 4. This conference provided an overview of business and economic trends in China, examined where we are following the ongoing trade negotiations, and hosted a forum for members to discuss crucial US-China commercial policies with experts from academia and various sectors.

Experts in their fields will address the following topics:

• Keynote Address: US-China Relations at 40
  • Madeleine K. Albright, Chair, Albright Stonebridge Group
• US-China Relations Following the Trade Negotiations
  • Wendy Cutler, Vice President and Managing Director, Asia Society
  • Susan Thornton, Senior Fellow, Paul Tsai China Center, Yale Law School
• China's Economy at Mid-Year
  • ​Damien Ma, Director, Paulson Institute
• Chinese Government Affairs
  • Dali Yang, William Claude Reavis Professor in Political Science, University of Chicago
• Politburo and Elite Politics
  • Cheng Li, Director, John L. Thornton China Center, Brookings Institution
• National Security
  • Roy Kamphausen, Senior Vice President for Research, National Bureau of Asian Research
  • David Shambaugh, Professor, Elliott School of International Affairs
  • Robert Sutter, Professor, Elliott School of International Affairs
• Operational Issues
  • Jake Parker, Vice President, China Operations, US-China Business Council
  • Dan Harris, Attorney and Founder, Harris Bricken
  • James Lewis, Senior Vice President and Director, Technology Policy Program, CSIS

The full conference schedule can be found here.

Special thanks to Amazon for their partial underwriting of our 46th Annual Membership Meeting!

Two year’s since China’s Cybersecurity Law came into force, USCBC was pleased to host Sarah Zhao, Partner at Baker Hostetler, for a conversation on the law’s implementation and impact to date, as well as implications of recent changes for US companies. With considerable experience advising major companies on China’s cybersecurity, privacy and data protection legal environment, Sarah Zhao offered valuable insight for US companies and considerations for establishing compliance programs.

As trade tensions escalate, China appears to be moving forward with cybersecurity implementing regulations originally expected to be on hold until the conclusion of negotiations. Sarah Zhao will provide an update on the status of draft implementing rules, such as critical information infrastructure (CII) inspections, cross-border data flow, and personally identifiable information, and what this means for US companies.