U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and trade

Business America, Jan-Feb, 1996

Trade and Investment Working Group. The subgroup covering trade issues met during the October JCCT session. In trade statistics, the two sides have completed the study of U.S.-China trade and are discussing parameters for a further study of our continuing trade differences, including rules of origin, to be conducted in the early part of 1997. In export controls, the United States and China have conducted beneficial discussions and both sides look forward to intensifying our relationship in this area in coming months. A Chinese defense conversion mission visited Washington and California in December, and a U.S. delegation will likely visit air traffic control facilities in China early this year. Regarding trade finance, the U.S. Export-Import Bank has detailed a business development officer to China to better familiarize China-based American executives and Chinese finance and project planning officials with Eximbank programs. Other issues related to investment and business facilitation (services, investment and business facilitation, and standards, testing and certification) will be discussed in upcoming Working Group meetings.

Business Development and Industrial Cooperation

Working Group. This Working Group is focused on industrial sectors that are of critical economic interest to both the United States and China. Formal terms of reference have been signed for all Groups, most of which have adopted an 18-month program of conferences, seminars, and trade missions, and policy discussions (see listing on page 17). Participation by the U.S. private sector and Chinese enterprises is encouraged.

Commercial Law and Economic Reform Working Group.

As one of the principal undertakings of the Commercial Law Working Group, the United States and China have convened Joint Legal Seminars to exchange information regarding recent developments in law and commercial policy in both countries. In December 1994, a delegation of government and corporate attorneys from the United States visited Beijing and Shanghai, and in December 1995, a delegation of Chinese attorneys visited Washington, D.C. and Seattle. The seminars addressed a broad range of issues, including intellectual property rights, export controls, trade remedy laws, regulation of foreign investment, corporate law, and arbitration procedures, and provided participants with an opportunity to share their insights and experience in these areas.

The Commercial Law Working Group also is considering possible technical assistance programs in the area of intellectual property rights protection. In October 1995, 11 Chinese patent and trademark officials attended the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Visiting Scholars Program, where they studied international standards for intellectual property rights protection as well as various aspects of the administration of industrial property law and the role of intellectual property as a tool for economic development.

Finally, the Working Group has served as a means for exchanging information on developments in the area of commercial law. At the October 1995 session of the JCCT, Secretary Brown presented MOFTEC with a copy of the United States Code Annotated, which constitutes over 200 volumes and includes all U.S. statutes. Previously, MOFTEC had provided the Commerce Department with compilations of Chinese laws concerning foreign economic affairs.

Management Education and Training Work Program.

The Department of Commerce, joined by a host of other organizations, will work jointly on a management training initiative to support the managerial needs of U.S.-Chinese ventures and to build upon the training and education partnerships already established between the two countries. This should alleviate a major impediment to operating in China for American companies: obtaining qualified personnel who are cognizant of basic management techniques.

The Management Education and Training Initiative begins this year with a five-fold focus: training trainers and current and future managers; enhancing management expertise through a series of academic and human resource development exchanges; establishing internships for MBA students in U.S. joint ventures; instituting seminars and one-on-one training for Chinese MBA educators; and utilizing distance learning technology. Among the first efforts are a Commerce Department-funded Gallup survey to determine training needs of joint ventures and other organizations in China followed by Commerce collaboration with U.S. and Chinese universities to develop curriculum and other institutional materials. The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) will coordinate the U.S. side, while Fudan University's School of Management and the American Studies Center in Shanghai serve as coordinators for the Chinese side. Other universities participating include the University of California at Berkeley, Ohio State University, Rutgers University, Georgia Tech, the University of Southern California, the University of Washington, the University of California at Irvine, and the State University of New York at Buffalo.