Forecast 2005

The US-China Business Council (USCBC) kicked off its annual Forecast conference with an evening reception on February 2 that featured guests from the US government, the PRC Embassy, member companies, and other China-related organizations.

The conference continued the next morning with presentations by Kenneth Lieberthal and Nicholas Lardy. Lieberthal, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution and professor of business and political science at the University of Michigan, discussed Chinese politics and policy trends. Lardy, a senior fellow at the Institute for International Economics, outlined the major issues facing China's economy this year. Charles Freeman, assistant US trade representative for the People's Republic of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, and Mongolia, reported on the progress of negotiations on key bilateral trade issues.

During the luncheon program, Brian Pomper, chief international trade counsel for the Senate Finance Committee, presented remarks from Senator Max Baucus, ranking member, US Senate Finance Committee, on US-China trade relations in 2005. The afternoon speaker, Patrick J. Powers, director of USCBC China Operations, presented the top operational concerns of US businesses in China.

Member company representatives then met with USCBC staff for benchmarking sessions on distribution and trading rights (led by Linda Cheever, president of Danaher's China Management Board) and sourcing (led by Roy Sheldon, vice president and director of emerging markets for ITT Industries, Inc.).

Joseph Donovan, director for the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs, Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs at the US Department of State; USCBC President John Frisbie; and Deputy Chief of Mission, PRC Embassy, Minister Lan Lijun, at the Councilšs Forecast Reception.

Jaqueline Willis, Hong Kong Commissioner for Economic and Trade Affairs; Nicholas Lardy, senior fellow, Institute for International Economics; and Patrick Powers, USCBC director of China Operations, at the Councilšs Forecast Reception.

Left: John Frisbie and Kenneth Lieberthal, visiting fellow in Policy Studies, the Brookings Institution
Middle: USCBC Editor Catherine Gelb and Assistant USTR for China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, and Mongolia Charles Freeman
Right: Chief International Trade Counsel for the Senate Finance Committee Brian Pomper

Danaher China Board of Management President Linda Cheever and Patrick Powers

Participants in a Forecast benchmarking session

Photos: Kaveh Sardari

USCBC President Meets with Leaders in China

USCBC President John Frisbie and Vice Minister of Commerce Ma Xiuhong

John Frisbie made his first visit to China and Hong Kong as Council president in January and was pleased to see that many of his Chinese government counterparts are officials he knows well from his work in China over the past two decades.

John Frisbie with Wan Jifei, chair of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade

In meetings with senior officials at the Ministry of Commerce, National Development and Reform Commission, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Frisbie emphasized the need for successes by American firms in China in order to overcome much of the negative sentiment building in the United States regarding trade with China. Frisbie emphasized the need for visible progress in leveling the playing field for US companies, including the implementation of China's World Trade Organization commitments, for American firms in China. He highlighted two issues for attention: China's timely implementation of government rules granting distribution rights to foreign firms; and, following on the late 2004 issuance of the judicial interpretation promising tougher penalties for counterfeiting, progress in intellectual property rights (IPR) enforcement.

Frisbie also met with Mayor of Beijing Wang Qishan, Vice Mayor of Shanghai Zhou Yupeng, and Hong Kong Secretary of Commerce, Industry, and Technology Tsang Chun-wah. Beijing Mayor Wang expressed his desire to work with American firms in the run-up to the 2008 Olympics.

In his stops in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, Frisbie met with close to 150 representatives of Council member companies. In luncheon forums in each city, he described initiatives the Council plans to undertake in 2005 and listened to the top issues members would like the Council to focus on in the coming year. In addition to distribution rights and IPR enforcement, issues include standards, China's government procurement regulations, local content requirements in China, and US visa policy.