USCBC Bulletin

Event Wrap Up
WASHINGTON, DC May Issues Luncheon on PRC Standards Featured Elise Owen, representative for China Affairs, American National Standards Institute. June 35th Annual Membership Meeting (See below) Reception for Incoming US-China Business Council (USCBC) Board Chair and New Directors (See below) Dinner Honoring PRC Vice Premier Wang Qishan and the PRC Delegation to the Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) Co-hosted by USCBC, the US Chamber of Commerce, and the National Committee on US-China Relations. BEIJING May Workshop on Talent Retention Featured Jim Leininger, general manager, Watson Wyatt Worldwide, Beijing, and a panel of human resources specialists. Luncheon with US Department of Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez Co-hosted by USCBC and the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham)-China.	China Operations Conference 2008 (See below) SED Breakfast Featured Ambassador Alan F. Holmer, the US Department of the Treasury's special envoy for China and the SED. Co-hosted by USCBC and AmCham-China. June Workshop on Employee Benefits Best Practices Featured Jeffrey Fan, China business leader for Health and Benefits, Mercer Human Resources Consulting. Workshop on the PRC Labor Contract Law Featured Andreas Lauffs, partner, Baker & McKenzie LLP. PHILADELPHIA, PA May Luncheon on China's Economy and Real Estate Market Featured Jeffrey Tertel, senior associate for Transaction Services, Office Group, Grubb & Ellis Co.; and Julie Walton, director, and Evan Thorpe, manager, Business Advisory Services, USCBC. Special thanks to hosts Grubb & Ellis Co. and Meyer Design, Inc.	MINNEAPOLIS, MN May Luncheon on Evolving Business Issues in the US-China Trade Relationship Featured USCBC President John Frisbie. Special thanks to host Faegre & Benson LLP. SHANGHAI May Reception on Executive Leadership in Government Relations Featured Steve Bertamini, chair and CEO-Northeast Asia, the General Electric Co. Co-hosted by USCBC and the Georgia State University Center for Global Business Leadership. Luncheon on Financial Sector Reforms Featured David Dali Liu, partner, Junhe Law Firm. Roundtable on Workforce Localization Featured Jill Malila, Client Management director, Mercer Human Resources Consulting. For more information on USCBC events, see www.uschina.org

USCBC Hosts China Operations Conference in Beijing

The US-China Business Council (USCBC) held its Beijing China Operations 2008 conference on May 21. The morning session began with a discussion on China's economy, led by Wang Tao, senior China economist for UBS AG. Qiu Lixin, deputy director of the PRC Ministry of Commerce's (MOFCOM) Foreign Investment Department, updated members on the ministry's foreign investment and development plans. Next, Audie Wong, president of Amway China, provided insights into how companies can structure their government affairs departments in China to cope with a changing regulatory environment.

US Ambassador to China Clark T. Randt, Jr. kicked off the afternoon session with a luncheon address on the past and future of US-China business relations as a tribute to USCBC's 35th anniversary. Albert Xie, general manager of the General Electric Co.'s (GE) Ecomagination team, shared some of GE's corporate social responsibility plans and strategies in China. USCBC Vice President Erin Ennis offered a view of China in US politics.

In a panel on the challenges of expansion in China, Roger Ng, director of PriceWaterhouse-Coopers' Human Resource Advisory Practice, spoke on the latest hiring trends in China, and Jack Gross, vice president and general manager of Schneider Logistics International, discussed of the logistical challenges firms face as they expand into China's interior.

In a panel on corporate structure and financial planning for US companies in China, Godfrey Firth, USCBC's chief representative in Shanghai, spoke about the complexity of corporate structures in industrial companies under China's various commercial and tax regimes. Albany International's Controller Xu Weiqing discussed sources of finance and the management of large capital investments in China. In addition, Murray Covello, Asia president for Praxair, outlined Praxair's extensive regime of systems and controls for compliance, finance, and sustainability across its 24 entities in China.

In the final panel of the day, Mure Dickie, Beijing correspondent for the Financial Times, and Eugene Tang, bureau chief for Bloomberg News, shared their views on the media's coverage of China and the growing global interest in businesses operating in China.

MOFCOM Deputy Director General of Foreign Investment Qiu Lixin and USCBC Vice President Robert Poole

Ambassador Clark T. Randt, Jr.

Photos by PR Photo

USCBC Holds 35th Annual Membership Meeting in Washington, DC

USCBC President John Frisbie kicked off the organization's 35th Annual Membership Meeting on June 3 by announcing the election of its board of directors. The formal agenda began with a presentation by Edward Epstein, managing partner, Troutman Sanders LLP, who discussed the complexities of trade and investment developments in China. USCBC Director of Business Advisory Services Julie Walton presented the findings of the second phase of USCBC's survey on government affairs best practices in China. Next, three recently China-based executives—William W. Beddow, director, Emerging Markets Government Affairs, Caterpillar Inc.; James Gresh, vice president-Asia Strategy, the Timken Co.; and Leonard McMullen, director, Global Manufacturing Operations and Sourcing, Agricultural Products Group, FMC Corp.—discussed the latest trends in China's operating environment. Wrapping up the morning session, outgoing Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Thomas Christensen provided an assessment of US-China relations and his views on key issues for a new administration to prioritize.

An off-the-record luncheon panel picked up on that theme and closed the conference. Representatives from each of the three presidential campaigns—Gary Gensler, senior Clinton advisor; Douglas Holtz-Eakin, McCain economic advisor; and Jeffrey Bader, Obama China advisor—spoke on how the presidential candidates view China and China trade issues.

Julie Walton, USCBC director of Business Advisory Services

Thomas Christensen, deputy assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs

Photos by sardari.com

USCBC Welcomes New USCBC Chair, Board Members

USCBC held a reception to welcome its new chair, Andrew Liveris, chairman & CEO of the Dow Chemical Co., and new directors on June 4 at the Smithsonian Institution's Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. About 125 guests attended the event, including PRC Ambassador to the United States Zhou Wenzhong and other PRC government officials, US government officials and members of Congress, USCBC board members and member companies, think tank representatives, and other special guests. The full list of USCBC's officers and directors can be viewed at www.uschina.org/board_of_directors.html.

USCBC Chair and Chairman & CEO of Dow Chemical Co. Andrew Liveris, Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong, and USCBC President John Frisbie	David W. Raisbeck, vice chairman, Cargill, Inc.; and Janet A. Howard, vice president, International Affairs, the Coca-Cola Co.
Carolyn L. Brehm, vice president, Global Government Relations, Procter & Gamble Co.; Pieter Bottelier, visiting associate professor of China Studies, Johns Hopkins University; Charles W. Freeman, III, Freeman Chair in China Studies, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Photos by sardari.com