China Business Review

An interim final rule giving the commerce secretary sweeping powers to block transactions in the ICT space that pose a threat to national security has been in effect since late March, but its origins go back to the Trump administration. Since 2019, companies have been pleading with the Department of Commerce to provide more clarity on what kinds of transactions and business partners Commerce will be looking at in the hopes that they can de-risk their business activities before it’s too late. To learn how the rule came about and why industry has been so reluctant to accept it, we’re chatting with Antonio Douglas, a business advisory services manager at the US-China Business Council.

Chinese students in the United States contribute around $15 billion a year to the American economy. But Chinese students now face a range of hurdles, from visa restrictions to currency fluctuations to the fallout of increased bilateral tensions. We speak with Peggy Blumenthal, an expert at the Institute of International Education, about the importance of Chinese students in the United States.

• Read more articles about the US-China relationship’s business and economic aspects in the China Business Review.
• Learn more about USCBC’s work on our website.

Hot and cold rhetoric surrounding the Phase One deal has sent mixed signals about the future of the US-China trade relationship. With Phase One now officially in effect for six months, I spoke with our own USCBC analysts Jack Kamensky, Pearson Goodman, and Alison Schonberg to get a read on whether China has been living up to its commitments or not. Claire Reade, senior counsel at Arnold & Porter and former assistant USTR for China affairs, also gives her take on the strongest and weakest parts of the agreement, as well as what industry can do to withstand political headwinds.

Further reading:

• Claire Reade: Trade May Still Be the Ballast in US-China Relations—At Least for Now (CSIS)
• Alison Schonberg: Phase One Purchases Lag as Trade Slowly Bounces Back from COVID-19
• USCBC: Phase One Commitment Tracker

Beijing’s decision to propose a new national security law for Hong Kong has reignited debates over the city’s future. We figured two people who would be able to provide some insight are James McGregor, Chairman of APCO Worldwide, and Mark Clifford, Executive Director of the Asia Business Council. In a fairly wide-ranging conversation, James and Mark touch on the legal, political, and economic aspects of the national security law and the future of Hong Kong.

• Read more articles on the China Business Review
• USCBC: Four Implications of Revoking Hong Kong’s Special Status with the United States

From its role as a punching bag in the presidential race to it being the target of executive, legislative, and judicial actions, China looms large in American politics. In 2020, that presence is overwhelmingly a negative one. Recent polling from Pew shows that 73% of Americans hold an unfavorable view of China, compared to a meager 22% who hold a positive view. China hasn’t always been such a lightning rod in US politics. To understand how we got to this moment and what we can expect going forward, we speak with Sheena Chestnut Greitens, an Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Austin and non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and Anna Ashton, Senior Director of Government Affairs at the US-China Business Council.

Relevant links

• Clips of Christopher Wray: China’s Attempt to Influence US Institutions: A Conversation with FBI Director Christopher Wray
• Clips of Mike Pompeo: Communist China and the Free World’s Future
• Theme music by Tours, under CC BY 3.0
• Other music by Podington Bear under CC BY-NC 3.0