12th Annual U.S.-China Trade Conference: "Leveraging China in the New Economic Order"  

We are please to invite you to our 12th Annual U.S.-China Trade Conference as well as to share a few of our observations regarding current U.S.-China business environment:

•  We believe that companies engaged in basic manufacturing will face enormous challenges over the next few years. This is true not only for U.S. companies but also for their Chinese counterparts. Many Chinese manufacturers today are struggling, and the sector is shedding jobs at a rapid clip. Inflation is over 6 percent, wages are increasing, the worker-benefit system has become cumbersome, the RMB is appreciating, and the population is ageing. Many low value-added manufacturing jobs are migrating to other developing countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia, while some higher value-added jobs are returning to the U.S. As India and Brazil aggressively expand their economies through various incentive programs aimed at attracting FDI to their manufacturing sectors, the world production capacity will continue to expand and, in time, reach excess.
  

• Many Chinese factories prosper because they are involved in other businesses, primarily real estate. Often, they use land as collateral to obtain financing to support their real estate development projects.
  

• The next gold rush for U.S. companies will be in the areas of technology-based, high value-added manufacturing, healthcare, education and training, foods and farming, luxury yachts and private aviation. As China moves up the food chain, it looks for more precision, automated manufacturing.

• Some analysts are bullish about the auto industry in China. In fact, China has been regarded as the "promised land" for many car and auto-parts companies and continues to grow at an accelerating pace. In my opinion, however, U.S. companies hold a competitive advantage primarily in the area of car design and engineering, particularly in engines, transmissions and electronics. I believe that the car industry in China will saturate quickly because China simply does not have enough space to accommodate increased traffic across the nation except in certain remote areas. The market is very competitive with new companies entering the market on a daily basis. The window of opportunity for U.S. auto-parts companies with niche products, engineering capabilities and brand recognition continues to exist. But U.S. companies need a greater sense of urgency and have to move faster.
  

• Luxury goods (including yachts and private aircraft) will do well over the next 10 years as an ideology of symbolism overshadows the practicalities of success. However, entrepreneurs with foresight and patience should be prepared for a whole new market to develop as rich Chinese turn to intangibles that are spiritual, cultural and superstitious in nature, when luxury goods no longer satisfy the psychological needs of a more self-confident and self-probing middle-class.

As manufacturers are the cornerstone of our organization, we strongly believe that manufacturing is vital to America's prosperity. USCCC is committed to assisting U.S. companies to understand the global dynamics of this sector and remain competitive in a rapidly changing environment. The 12th Annual U.S.-China Trade Conference will reflect such a philosophy and it will examine various issues to that effect.

Some of the topics at the event will include:

• What have private company owners experienced in the last two years? What do they think about the future?
  
• Have U.S. companies changed their focus in light of the rising cost in China and an imminent currency war?
  
• What are the risks and rewards in selling technologies to China?
  
• Is China buying into the U.S.?
  
• How big will the Chinese consumer market be? What is the impact of social media on Chinese consumers?
  
• What are the recent trends in trade and customs, tax and accounting impacting U.S.-China business?

The Conference will emphasize on dialogs with practitioners and case studies. Most speakers are attendees at previous conferences. They have very little commercial interest in speaking but believe that this is the way for us to build a community to stay competitive and make the world a better place to live in this global economy.  For further information regarding the agenda for the Conference, please refer to the follow: Program Agenda.pdf

I hope that you will consider join us on this special event to work together to prosper. Please save the dates of November 14th and 15th  for our 12th Annual U.S.-China Trade Conference. This annual event will be held at the Chicago Marriott. Please register online or  download the registration form and fax it to (312) 368-9911.  

Best regards,

Siva Yam, CPA, CFA

President

U.S.-China Chamber of Commerce