Restrictions on both WeChat and TikTok which were originally scheduled to come into effect on September 20 have both been delayed. A court order on September 20 put WeChat restrictions on pause shortly before implementation due to concerns with inhibiting free speech under the First Amendment of the US Constitution. On September 19, the Department of Commerce announced that it would delay TikTok’s removal from US app stores for a week after President Trump approved “in concept” a deal for an American company to oversee US user data, although subsequent remarks call the president’s support into question.

On September 19, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) published the final Provisions on the Unreliable Entity List (English available here), but so far has not released names of companies to be included on the list. The concept of the Unreliable Entity List (UEL) was introduced in May 2019 after Huawei was added to the United States’ Entity List and China has been foreshadowing its enactment since. While the UEL is seen as a response to recent US government export control actions, it also mirrors some elements of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and forthcoming rules for protecting the information and communications technology and services supply chain. 

Last month, WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo resigned from his role leading the World Trade Organization (WTO) a full year before his second 4-year term was scheduled to end. Azevedo’s surprise announcement this spring underscored mounting dysfunction in the global trading system just as the massive economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges of developing an international response were coming into focus. A new leader—to be selected this fall—will have the high-stakes task of reforming the organization and restoring its global relevance while navigating the deteriorating relationship between the WTO’s two largest member economies.

On August 20, the State Cryptography Agency (SCA) released revised draft Commercial Cryptography Management Measures for public comment until September 19. An implementing regulation to last year’s Cryptography Law, this revision updates decades-old measures and raises fresh concerns regarding the scope of commercial cryptography technology subject to new compliance requirements. Depending on how these concerns are addressed by a final draft, foreign companies may find themselves being pushed out of the market and their supply lines disrupted. 

Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) named Xiao Yaqing (肖亚庆) as Party secretary and minister after former Minister Miao Yu (苗圩) reached the mandatory retirement age of 65. Xiao previously served as director of the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), a super-regulator that oversees entity registration, food and drug safety, antitrust enforcement, intellectual property protection, and standards. USCBC’s Board of Directors met with Xiao last October in Beijing.

With China factoring more prominently in the 2020 presidential election, both Former Vice President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump have accused the other of being too soft on China. The Democratic party platform and remarks by Biden so far indicate the former vice president would pursue a multilateral approach to China, working with like-minded partners to negotiate trade policies that are more in-line with global norms. However, Biden’s greater economic agenda—which is the cornerstone of his China policy—does bear some similarity to Trump’s agenda on issues like securing supply chains deemed critical to US national security and boosting US manufacturing.