USCBC held its Forecast 2010 reception and conference in Washington, DC, in late January. Attended by leading US government officials, PRC government representatives, USCBC member company executives, conference speakers, and members of the think-tank and China-watching community, the evening reception honored PRC Ambassador to the United States Zhou Wenzhong and his wife, Mme. Xie Shumin. Zhou, who returned to Beijing in February after nearly five years of service as China’s leading diplomat in Washington, DC, offered farewell remarks. Representatives Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Mark Kirk (R-IL), who head the House US-China Working Group, joined in offering brief tributes and thanks to Zhou for his close collaboration with the group.
The next morning, USCBC President John Frisbie opened the Forecast conference, and Victor Shih, assistant professor at Northwestern University’s Department of Political Science, presented on China’s economy in 2010 and financial and regulatory trends in China’s industrial policies. Bob Poole, USCBC vice president of China Operations, followed with a discussion of operational challenges in the year ahead.
Addressing political issues, Kevin Nealer, principal and partner at the Scowcroft Group, and Charles Freeman, Freeman chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, discussed prospects for bilateral relations and the interplay with domestic politics in the United States and China. US Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke gave the luncheon address on US commercial engagement with China in 2010, announcing that he will lead the Obama administration’s first trade mission—to China and India—this year. Locke then met with USCBC business executives and other guests.
