On the heels of several well-publicized toy recalls earlier this year, AmCham China worked with the US Trade and Development Agency and the US-China Standards and Conformity Assessment Cooperation Program to bring several industry associations and US and China governmental agencies together for a conference to discuss standards, certification requirements, and the relationship between product safety, quality and working conditions. The 2007 US-China Toy Safety Conference was organized by the Toy Industry Association, The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, the Inspection and Quarantine of PRC, the Certification and Accreditation Administration of PRC (CNCA) the Ministry of Commerce of PRC (MOFCOM) and the China Toy Industrial Association.

More about the event can be found on the Toy Industry Association website.

China is in the midst of its biggest ever modernization of labor laws and labor market regulation, coming into force Jan. 1, 2008. The labor reforms grant the individual worker more employment protection rights enforceable by law, and mean more legal certainty for foreign employers. A total of 7,000 employees resigned from Huawei en masse. Wal-Mart is also cutting its labor force worldwide. Despite China’s spectacular GDP growth of nearly 10% per year since 1978, and despite Beijing’s claim that the country remains on a socialist course, in the eight years leading up to 2005, workers’ wages as a proportion of GDP plunged from 53% to 41.4%. This comes from  a report translated from Chinese and published in AmCham-China’s News Wire.

Two CCTV-9 shows; BizChina and Dialogue, interviewed AmCham-China President Michael Barbalas recently. President Barbalas shared his thoughts about the recent Strategic Economic Dialogue and the state of trade between China and the US.

Watch the Dialogue interview.

Watch the BizChina interview.

Chinese and Americans generally hold favorable views toward each other and most people in both countries believe bilateral trade benefits both economies, according to a new survey released in Washington on Monday (Dec. 10). The survey, entitled American and Chinese Attitudes Toward Each Other, was released by the Committee of 100, a nonprofit organization made up of well-known Chinese Americans. It found that 60% of the Chinese people surveyed have a favorable impression of the US, while 52% of the Americans give a favorable rating to China. Both American and Chinese respondents have very positive feelings about Beijing’s hosting of the 2008 Olympic Games, agreeing that the event will help improve China’s economy and global image. Get the full report.

This fall, AmCham-China was a promotional sponsor for the Committee of 100’s “BRIDGE TO CHANGE (II)” conference held in Beijing.  Prominent journalists, business leaders, Chinese scholars and politicians addressed hot-button issues including Corporate Social Responsibility: The Strategic Imperative, China’s Capital Markets: Going Global,  Energy Security and Environmental Responsibility: Two Sides of the Same Coin and Brainstorm China: The Drive for New Ideas, New Media and New Talent.

Both Chinese and international press outlets have reported on the meeting AmCham-China held with Secretary Leavitt earlier this week.

He discussed the two new ‘Memorandum of agreement’ (MOA) documents signed with the PRC government as part of the Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) and Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT). Secretary Leavitt also presented the Action Plan for Import Safety: A roadmap for continual improvement, which was developed by the Interagency Working Group on Import Safety and was presented to President George Bush.

Read a report in English from China Daily and in Chinese from China News.

Finance Minister Xie Xuren Sunday warned of a “rising trend of trade protectionism in the US” that may do “serious harm” to Sino-US economic and trade ties. Xie made the remarks on the eve of the Third China-US Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED), which is slated to start on Wednesday in Beijing. It is an annual meeting to ease frictions and problems in trade affairs and will be attended by many high-profile officials from both sides. A delegation consisting of nine Cabinet-level officials headed by US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson are meeting with a Chinese team led by Vice-Premier Wu Yi and many ministers, Xie said. US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez and Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt are among the US delegation.

Finance Minister Xie Xuren’s comments were reported by Hexun and are available in the AmCham-China Wire.

Secretary Leavitt met with AmCham-China members and held a press conference today. Notes from the meeting are available on the AmCham site.

Rio Tinto is prepared to consider approaches from China after it was reported that the country’s largest steelmaker was planning an offer that could value Rio at more than $200b. Chief executive Tom Albanese said recently that the company is “listening, but not engaged” in talks with the Chinese government and steelmakers, who are the largest customers for Rio’s Australian iron ore mines. However, the company is understood to have softened its position and is now prepared to talk if a formal offer at a large enough price is forthcoming. Get more details about the discussions in the AmCham-China Wire.

AmCham-China is hosting a morning meeting with US Secretary of Health & Human Services Mike Leavitt on Monday, December 10. He will discuss hot-button issues in food, drug, and product import safety. In addition to explaining the new US Import Safety Action Plan, Sec. Leavitt will give a preview of the two new ‘Memorandum of Agreement’ (MOA) that will be signed with the PRC Government as part of the Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) and Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT).

This event is open to the public, with preferential pricing for AmCham members. Advance registration is required. Sign up by noon on Friday, December 7 on the AmCham-China site.

Earlier this week, China released the draft version of a long-awaited energy law, calling for more environmentally-friendly energy policies and a more market-based pricing mechanism. The law aims to “construct a stable, economical, clean and sustainable energy supply and service system, increase energy efficiency and safeguard energy security,” says the draft posted on a government agency website. The AmCham-China Wire reports that the the law was published on the website of the Office of the National Energy Leading Group, an elite policy-making body, and will solicit opinions from the public until Feb. 1, 2008.