Highlights of this month’s edition:
• Bilateral trade: U.S. goods deficit with China slowed in November 2015 as imports from China declined.
• Bilateral policy issues: USTR challenges China’s discriminatory taxation policy for domestically produced small aircraft; the PBOC creates a multicurrency index for the RMB in a bid to deemphasize links to the dollar.
• Policy trends in China’s economy: Beijing announces a slate of new reforms to improve quality of life, including changes to the household registration system; China a party to the Paris climate change agreement, but questions remain about reliability of China’s pledges.
• Sector focus – Internet Privacy and Freedom of the Press: China passes antiterrorism law requiring decryption and other technological assistance from telecommunications and Internet services providers; Xi Jinping defends “Internet sovereignty” at Beijing-sponsored World Internet Conference despite China’s status as worst abuser of Internet freedom and jailer of journalists in 2015.