Announcements
09/10/2019
Highlights of This Month’s Edition
• Bilateral trade: The U.S. goods deficit with China totaled $32.8 billion in July, down 11 percent year-on-year.
• Bilateral policy issues: The United States and China agreed to resume trade negotiations following a month of tariff escalations; new rounds of tariffs will hit consumer goods the hardest; after months of propping up its value, China’s government allows the currency to weaken to 7 RMB against the U.S. dollar, leading the U.S. government to label China a currency manipulator.
• Policy trends in China’s economy: Provincial fiscal data from the first half of 2019 reveal that the tax cuts and stimulus spending Beijing has deployed since the beginning of year have stretched local governments’ ability to balance their budgets; however, Beijing appears unlikely to change course and is preparing to approve another round of infrastructure bonds in December.
• In focus – China’s surveillance technology: China’s surveillance technology sector has evolved from making basic equipment to a robust ecosystem spanning cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
08/28/2019
The hearing will review key developments in the U.S.-China relationship in 2019. Panel 1 will evaluate developments in China’s political economy and the impact of U.S.-China trade frictions on the Chinese economy. Panel 2 will assess the implications of Chinese military activities and modernization in 2019 for the United States and U.S. allies and partners. Panel 3 will review the implications of economic, political, and security developments between China and Taiwan for regional security, and explore the escalating situation in Hong Kong.
08/05/2019
Highlights of This Month’s Edition
• Bilateral trade: U.S. goods deficit with China reached $87 billion in Q2 2019, down 8 percent year-on-year; U.S. Q1 2019 services trade surplus with China fell for the first time since 2006.
• Bilateral policy issues: President Trump announced new tariffs on Chinese goods effective September 1, citing China’s failure to make large purchases of U.S. agricultural goods and curb the flow of fentanyl to the United States; the WTO issued a mixed ruling on China’s challenge of U.S. calculation of tariffs on certain Chinese goods; the Trump Administration issued a memorandum calling out WTO standards on developing country status for China and others.
• Quarterly review of China’s economy: China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 6.2 percent in Q2 2019 as stimulus deployed earlier in the year wore off; escalating trade tensions also hurt industrial profits as export growth collapsed, prompting fears about employment stability.
• Policy trends in China: In an approach different from the recent takeover of Baoshang Bank, China’s financial regulators assisted the struggling Bank of Jinzhou by facilitating investment from three state-run investment firms; trading began on China’s new technology trading platform, but performance has been uneven.
07/31/2019
The hearing will assess China’s role in global health, pharmaceuticals, and medical products. In addition, it will examine the activities of Chinese health and biotech firms in the United States, and U.S. access to China’s health market. Finally, the hearing will consider the implications for U.S. public health and national security of growing U.S. dependence on Chinese health products.
07/11/2019
Over the past two decades, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has expanded its involvement in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR) missions outside China’s borders. Through its contributions to HA/DR, Beijing has provided important assistance to disaster-stricken populations and sought to burnish its image as a “responsible stakeholder” in the international system. At the same time, Beijing routinely allows political considerations to guide its participation in HA/DR missions, violating the humanitarian spirit of these operations and suggesting Chinese leaders may view HA/DR less as a global good than an instrument of influence. Moreover, the PLA has cooperated haltingly with international partners during these missions and at times willfully disregarded best practices for military participation in HA/DR. This report examines the drivers behind the PLA’s increasing participation in HA/DR abroad; the impact, both positive and problematic, of the PLA’s involvement in several recent multinational disaster relief operations; and the implications of the PLA’s involvement in and approach to these missions for the United States.
07/03/2019
Highlights of This Month’s Edition
• Bilateral trade: U.S. goods deficit with China totaled $30.2 billion in May 2019, down 9 percent year-on-year, reflecting a decline in both exports and imports.
• Bilateral policy issues: New tariffs on Chinese goods halted as the United States and China agree to resume trade talks; the United States adds five entities tied to China’s development of supercomputers to the Entity List; U.S. importers are attempting to sidestep tariffs on goods from China, but some are reconsidering production in China altogether as a possible fourth wave of tariffs looms; China suspends WTO dispute against the EU over China’s market economy status after it allegedly lost the case, allowing the EU and United States to continue treating China as a nonmarket economy.
• In focus – The Baoshang Takeover: In a surprise move, Chinese financial regulators took over Baoshang Bank on May 24, sparking a slowdown in interbank lending to small and regional banks, even as the People’s Bank of China intervened to keep interbank credit channels open.
