Wearing hardhats and getting hard facts

AmCham-China 2005-2006 Chairman Emory Williams and President Michael Barbalas led a team of 24 chamber members and employees on a four-day fact-finding tour of Shaanxi late last month. The delegation visited the cities of Xi’an, Baoji and Xianyang as well as Yangling agricultural district, toured state-owned, foreign-invested and private companies, and met with municipal and provincial officials, including Shaanxi Governor Yuan Chunqing. The trip wrapped up a busy year of regional visits that saw chamber members investigate the business and investment environment in Anhui, Henan, Heilongjiang and Tibet. AmCham-China has organized 12 trips covering more than 11 provinces during the past two years. Full details of the Shaanxi trip will appear in AmCham-China’s China Brief magazine.

Taking note of business trends

U.S. Embassy experts provided the quarterly economic briefing on the state of China’s economy to AmCham members on September 27 at the American Club.

David Loevinger, minister-counselor for financial affairs, Sarah Ellerman, senior import administration officer for the Department of Commerce, and David Meale, first secretary of the macroeconomic and financial policy unit, reviewed new government policies impacting business trends and the policy environment for decision-makers involved in the China market.

Meale broke down the latest economic figures and the components of China’s GDP growth, noting that fixed assent investment has served as a recent major driver.

Loevinger discussed the US-China Strategic Economic Dialogue and highlighted the focus on rebalancing the sources of China’s economic growth through further reform of capital markets, social security, and the development of corporate dividends. Due to low-yielding bank instruments and lack of alternative investment options, Chinese households are forced to save more in order to generate increased income, thus contributing to China’s current account surplus and imbalanced growth, Loevinger commented.

Ellerman provided an update on the Department of Commerce’s recent countervailing duty cases against China and an overview of the Embassy’s new “Invest in America” initiative.

Arthur Kroeber, managing editor of China Economic Quarterly, moderated the event and provided insights on some opportunities and challenges involved across various service industries in China.

On September 26, the chamber’s Legal Committee, led by chair Mike Dardzinski of Dewey Ballantine, met with a U.S. delegation in China to open discussion about a Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIT).

Dardzinski and AmCham-China Chairman James Zimmerman met with Daniel Bahar, the USTR’s Director of Investment Affairs, and Michael Tracton, State Department’s BIT Program Coordinator. They discussed a variety of issues concerning the proposed BIT with China, the BIT negotiation process, and potential impact of the BIT on U.S. industry.

The Legal Committee will lead AmCham-China’s work with the U.S. government on BIT relations issues and provide feedback to members as new information is received. Members interested in participating in the discussions should contact Gabe Lopez at gabelopez@amcham-china.org.cn.

Getting a Doha Round round-up

Two dozen Chinese Government Affairs Committee (CGAC) members gathered at the American Club on September 13 for a lunch meeting with Wang Xiaodong, a counselor of the Director General Office of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Wang briefed all present on the WTO’s Doha Round, including China’s role, and then answered questions. CGAC Chair Yuan Haiying moderated the event.

The AmCham-China team poses with Vice Minister Ma.

Continuing the White Paper follow-up process, AmCham-China Chairman James Zimmerman led a small delegation to meet Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) Vice Minister Ma Xiuhong on September 12.

The two sides discussed issues important to AmCham-China members, including food and product safety, market access, foreign investment, and direct selling. The chamber members talked about the results of the Washington door knock and AmCham-China’s recommendations to the U.S. government to allocate more resources for export assistance for SMEs, improve visa processing, and implement improved export control policies.