Research & Analysis

The United States long ago ceded the title of world’s tallest building to Asia and the Middle East. Seven of the top 10 tallest completed buildings in the world are now in Asia, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. This Chicago-headquartered not-for-profit organization founded in 1969 maintains the Skyscraper Center, a database on the world’s tallest buildings.

Maternity leave in China can vary widely by location, especially in terms of ‘late maternity leave’ as determined by the local government. It can also be complex for an employer to calculate how much maternity leave and allowance female employees are entitled to.

On June 7, USCBC hosted a reception to welcome new board chair, Evan Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of Chubb, as well as its new officers and directors.

On June 6, the US-China Business Council held it’s 44th Annual Membership Meeting. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin provided the keynote address, and emphasized the Trump administration’s goal of achieving a more balanced bilateral trade relationship. Professor Joseph Fewsmith of the Frederick S Pardee School of Global Governance at Boston University forecasted potential Chinese leadership changes with 19th Party Congress this fall. Richard Lung, senior director and international economist at Visa, briefed the audience on the current health of China’s economy. Experts Deborah Lehr of Basilinna and the Paulson Institute, Daniel Price of Rock Creek Global Advisors, and Brian Pomper of Akin Gump discussed current policy challenges and tools for results-oriented bilateral engagement. USCBC Vice President for China, Jacob Parker, provided on-the-ground insights into current Chinese operating environment trends.

China’s toy industry posted strong growth in 2016, countering recent trends in China’s light industry sector. While China’s total exports dropped by 7.7 percent and imports by 5.5 percent in 2016, toy exports rose by 9.5 percent and imports by 23 percent.

China’s intellectual property (IP) protection and enforcement remains inadequate and foreign company market access barriers too strict, according to the Special 301 Report, keeping the United State’s second-largest trading partner on the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) priority watch list for another year.

Alarming predictions for the US relationships in Northeast Asia after the 2016 election of US President Donald Trump have faded, but the outlook for the region remains fraught with uncertainty.