Today the US-China Business Council (USCBC) said that China has made important progress in opening-up its market since acceding to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, but still has many challenges left to address in order to achieve a fair and equitable market-place for foreign investors.
In written testimony to the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee, USCBC stated that while China is often in compliance with the letter of its WTO commitments, it falls short of the...
The US Treasury Department declined to label China a currency manipulator in its latest Semi-Annual Report to Congress on International Economic and Exchange Rate Policies, released on Wednesday, but acknowledged China’s currency remains “significantly undervalued.” In its report, Treasury noted that China's real exchange rate has appreciated 12 percent against the US dollar since June 2010, and by 45 percent against the dollar since 2005. However, the report states that there is “evidence...
The Senate US-China Working Group, co-chaired by Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), met on Tuesday with China Ambassador Cui Tiankai to discuss the bilateral commercial and economic relationship, as well as military cooperation and people-to-people exchanges. In a statement on the meeting, Senator Kirk announced that the working group – which will be formally launched this fall – will serve as a forum for dialogue between the Senate and Chinese government leaders....
For readers working inside the Washington beltway, the impending US government shutdown is dominating the news, with the minutiae of budget rules parsed daily. For readers outside of Washington, however, some context of the implications of the US budget gridlock may be useful to understanding the potential impact on US-China commercial relations.
The most pressing issue now is funding for the US government—which will close tomorrow unless the impasse is resolved—though soon after that...
China has stated its interest in joining the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) negotiations, according to a BNA report. If it formally joins the negotiations, China’s participation would add new dimension and complexity to the talks, and would correspond with China’s stated intention to pursue “proactive strategies” to strengthen its services sector. The TISA negotiations, launched in 2013, seek to remove barriers and increase market openings originally covered in the 1995 General Trade in...
