China recently fast-tracked review of the new draft Foreign Investment Law, raising questions about China’s rule and decision making process, the extent of transparency and the role of public participation. On March 20, Jamie Horsley, visiting fellow with Brookings’ John L. Thornton China Center Foreign Policy Program, shared insights on recent changes in China’s law and decision making process and the impact on companies’ ability to engage in the rule and standard setting process going forward.

The Trump Administration recently decided to extend U.S.-China trade negotiations beyond the initial March 1 deadline, noting the talks had made “substantial progress.” However, significant questions remain on whether the two sides will reach a deal, what that deal might look like, and the implications for the trajectory of U.S.-China relations and companies doing business in China. On March 14, Amb. Craig Allen provided insight on where the bilateral relationship is headed, including the dynamics at play in the ongoing negotiations, what to expect from the potential meeting between the two leaders in late-March, as well as the potential impact of reforms to export controls and investment restrictions to companies in the high-tech space.

Forty years after the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and China, we are at a historic inflection point defined by more and more competition and less and less cooperation. Both countries have actively traded economic blows and we have demonstrably proven that we are most capable of hurting each other. There are voices on both sides clamoring for economic decoupling amidst a severe collapse of trust, and that trust deficit is most starkly on display in the realm of technology and innovation. In many respects, China’s technological transformation has been a boon to the United States. It is, in fact, impossible to imagine a Silicon Valley without China. But US concerns over China’s policies and practices in the high-tech sphere are very real. The US Trade Representative’s Section 301 report accurately identifies a suite of anti-competitive and unfair practices that cannot continue if cooperative innovation is to thrive. History shows that the United States and China can both choose to make progress together, or we can both choose to struggle together. There are steps China can take to right this course, steps that are in its own economic interests as well as ours.

On March 11, USCBC President Craig Allen spoke at Stanford University on cooperative innovation. This event is part of the China Program’s Colloquia Series entitled "A New Cold War?: Sharp Power, Strategic Competition, and the Future of U.S.-China Relations " sponsored by Shorenstein APARC's China Program.

See event page here. 

The US-China Business Council (USCBC) and AmCham Shanghai invite you to join a breakfast debrief on the US-China economic relations following the 90-day negotiations on March 5. This breakfast event covered the results of the US-China 90-day negotiations which were supposed to end by March 1, analysis of the outcomes, and a look at outlook for the China business environment following the negotiations. The program provided both US and China perspectives from both the policy and business angle.

• Ker Gibbs, President, AmCham Shanghai
• Jake Parker, Vice President, China Operations, US-China Business Council
• Dr. Wu Xinbo, Director, Center for American Studies, Dean of the Institute of International Studies, Fudan University
• Susan Dietz-Henderson, Chief Representative, Capital Group
• Gabriel Wildau, Shanghai Bureau Chief, Financial Times