Highlights of This Month’s Edition
• Bilateral trade: In February, U.S. deficit with China reached $23 billion, down 26.6 percent month-on-month and 18.3 percent year-on-year.
• Bilateral policy issues: The United States is poised to maintain China’s status as a nonmarket economy; at Beijing’s request, WTO establishes panel to review the EU’s treatment of China as a nonmarket economy; Chinese outbound investment reached record levels in 2016, but an unprecedented number of Chinese investment transactions were canceled as Chinese authorities adopt measures to control capital outflows; additional measures to restrict outbound FDI will likely lead to an investment decline in 2017; China expands foothold in the U.S. rail market with a new $137.5 million contract to build train cars for Philadelphia’s transit system.
• Policy trends in China’s economy: Work reports from China’s National People’s Congress stress the centrality of the CCP in policymaking, with President Xi at the helm; priority given to clamping down on financial instability; China is planning to establish a trading link connecting bond markets in China and Hong Kong.
• Sector focus – Artificial Intelligence: China is aggressively closing gap with the United States for global leadership in artificial intelligence.