Research & Analysis

On March 5, during the annual Two Sessions conference, China released its government budget report, which lays out how the state intends to spend in 2024. This year’s budget is conservative, with increases to revenue and expenditure in line with previous years.

In Washington, the popular social media app TikTok is back in the spotlight after previous legislative efforts to rein it in abruptly stalled. Led by House Select Committee on the CCP Chair Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act would prohibit TikTok from being offered in app stores in the United States unless TikTok severs its relationship with ByteDance, its Chinese parent company.

On Wednesday, the House passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act by a margin of 365 to 65, sending it to the Senate. The bill, led by House Select Committee on the CCP Chair Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), would prohibit TikTok from being hosted in app stores in the United States unless the app separates from its Chinese parent company ByteDance.

“There are more than 500 million English readers or learners in China,” states Steve Potash, Cleveland native and founder of OverDrive, an Ohio-based digital content distributor for libraries and schools worldwide. “If you are a publisher that wants to sell to English-speaking readers, there are more in China than in North America.”

US exports to China create jobs in the United States. In fact, exports by US companies to Chinese buyers supported over one million jobs in the United States, according to the US-China Business Council’s 2023 Export Report. But what about imports from China? Do they create or cost American jobs?

In his State of the Union address last night, President Joe Biden highlighted his administration’s approach to industrial policy and competition with China. Early in his speech, he praised the CHIPS and Science Act for spurring increased domestic private-sector investment in semiconductors.

On March 5, Premier Li Qiang opened the National People’s Congress by delivering the annual government work report. The report was released in concert with the National Development and Reform Commission’s (NDRC) annual draft Plan for Economic and Social Development as well as the Ministry of Finance’s (MOF) draft central and local government budgets, which include further details that complement the premier’s work report.

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden issued a long-anticipated data executive order (EO) that directs the Justice Department (DOJ) to establish regulations limiting the transfer of sensitive US personal data to countries of concern, including China.

The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) will open on March 4, followed by the start of the National People’s Congress (NPC) on March 5. These meetings are collectively known as the Two Sessions, China’s most important annual political event where the country’s high-level economic policies for the coming year are laid out in the Government Work Report, which will be delivered by Premier Li Qiang.

Technology self-sufficiency has secured its position as a top economic and political priority for China. At last year’s Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC), the annual economic planning session chaired by President Xi Jinping, promoting industrial innovation was named the first of nine priority areas for 2024.