June 2020 Trade Bulletin

Highlights of This Month’s Edition

• ​Bilateral trade: U.S. exports to China reached $8.6 billion in April 2020, the first year-on-year increase since January 2020.

• Bilateral policy issues: On May 28, the National People’s Congress approved a plan to impose a national security law on Hong Kong, sparking protests in the territory; the Trump Administration declared its intention to begin revoking Hong Kong’s special status in U.S. law; two final rules from the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) add to the Entity List Chinese entities involved in human rights abuses and facilitating military use of U.S. technology; BIS also strengthens controls over semiconductor exports to Huawei; Chinese companies look to other capital markets as the United States tightens scrutiny on Chinese securities.

• In Focus – Two Sessions 2020: Convening in Beijing to set national-level priorities, China’s top leaders abandoned the country’s GDP growth target in favor of measures supporting employment and social stability, unveiled large-scale economic stimulus policies, and announced an ambitious legislative agenda.