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CBR July-August 2010 - Services

USCBC Bulletin

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Event Wrap Up

WASHINGTON, DC

September

Discussion on Section 421 and Its Implications

Panelists included Brenda Jacobs, counsel at Sidley Austin LLP; Timothy Keeler, counsel at Mayer Brown LLP; Lewis Leibowitz, partner at Hogan & Hartson; and Marguerite Trossevin, founding member of Jochum Shore & Trossevin, PC.

Dinner in Honor of PRC National People's Congress Chair Wu Bangguo

The dinner, co-hosted by USCBC and several other organizations, featured Wu and his delegation, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke. USCBC was represented by former Secretary of Commerce and USCBC Board Director William Daley, vice chairman of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.

Roundtable on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Enforcement

Luke Minford, China representative at Rouse & Co. International, and Charles Schill, partner at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, discussed handling IPR infringement in China.

USCBC Webinar on Healthcare

Featured Ryan Ong, Business Advisory Services manager at the US-China Business Council (USCBC), and David J. Hofmann, North America market manager at InterChina Consulting.

USCBC Webinar on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

Featured Patrick Norton, partner at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, and Frederic R. Miller, senior partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

October

JCCT 2009 Preview

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for East Asia Ira Kasoff and Assistant US Trade Representative Tim Stratford met with USCBC members to discuss topics to be addressed at the October 28-29 Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) meetings in Hangzhou, Zhejiang.

BEIJING

September

Working Breakfast with AQSIQ Director General

PRC Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine (AQSIQ) Director General Wang Xin met with USCBC members to discuss import and export policy developments.

Lunch Briefing with US Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade

Acting Under Secretary Michelle O'Neill briefed USCBC and American Chamber of Commerce members on her Beijing meetings preceding the JCCT.

October

Reception with US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Delegation

CPSC Chair Inez Tenenbaum discussed US-China bilateral cooperation on product safety issues.

SHANGHAI

September

Reception with USCBC President John Frisbie

Frisbie offered brief remarks on the latest bilateral trade developments and introduced Julie Walton, USCBC's new chief representative in Shanghai.

Upcoming Events


WASHINGTON

Issues Briefings

November 19, 2009
December 17, 2009

US-China Business Council Gala

December 2, 2009
Honoring PRC Ambassador to the United States Zhou Wenzhong
Capital Hilton
1001 16th Street, NW

Forecast 2010

January 27 and 28, 2009

For more information on USCBC events, see www.uschina.org

USCBC President Meets PRC Leaders and Member Companies in China

US-China Business Council (USCBC) President John Frisbie visited China during the week of September 21 and met with senior PRC officials in Beijing and Shanghai to raise several advocacy points on behalf of USCBC member companies. Frisbie also met with roughly 50 member-company executives to hear their views on the current business environment in China and to brief them on bilateral trade developments in Washington, DC.

One of Frisbie's principal advocacy points was to press for foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) to be treated as "domestic enterprises" under China's government procurement and indigenous innovation rules. One of the top issues highlighted in USCBC's recently released 2009 member survey and in company meetings in both cities is that FIE products and services made or provided in China are treated as "foreign" rather than domestic and are therefore excluded or disadvantaged in procurement decisions (see Survey Reveals Cautious Optimism).

Although one outcome of the July US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue was a statement that FIEs should be treated as domestic enterprises in government procurement practices (as they are in the United States), USCBC believes that the PRC central government must issue a written clarification in China to ensure even implementation at the central and local levels.

During his trip, Frisbie also met with Ambassador Jon Huntsman and new Commercial Minister-Counselor William Zarit at a US Embassy reception to introduce Zarit to the business community, along with Consul-General Bea Camp in Shanghai. Frisbie reiterated USCBC's offer to jointly host an event in honor of President Barack Obama during his visit to China in mid-November.

Copyright 2009 US-China Business Council