Highlights of This Month's Edition:
· Bilateral trade: U.S. goods deficit with China reached $33.6 billion in July 2017, a 10.6 percent increase year-on-year, due to robust growth in U.S. imports.
· Bilateral policy issues: The USTR launches a Section 301 investigation into China’s industrial policies; the United States imposes new secondary sanctions on Chinese companies over their engagement with North Korea.
· Policy trends in China’s economy: To counter declining inbound foreign investment, China’s State Council announces several measures to improve business environment for foreign firms; meanwhile, China’s government continues the crackdown on outbound investment by restricting investment into foreign real estate, hospitality, and entertainment sectors; in its annual review of China’s economy, the IMF warns China’s current credit trajectory is “dangerous.”
· Sector focus – Oil: U.S. oil exports to China rise markedly amid declining oil production in China and production cuts in other oil-exporting countries.