The terrain of the world trading system is shifting as countries in Asia, Europe, and North America negotiate new trade agreements. However, none of these talks include both China and the United States, the two biggest economies in the world. In this pathbreaking study, C. Fred Bergsten, Gary Clyde Hufbauer, and Sean Miner argue that China and the United States would benefit substantially from a bilateral free trade and investment accord or from participating together in a regional agreement like the TPP. In the process, they contend, each country would also achieve progress in addressing its internal economic challenges, such as the low saving rate in the United States. Achieving greater trade and investment integration could be accomplished with one comprehensive effort or through step-by-step negotiations over key issues. The authors call on the United States to seek liberalization of China's services sector as vital to securing an agreement, and they explain that such contentious matters as cyberespionage and currency manipulation be handled through parallel negotiations rather than in the agreement itself. This is an important study of the benefits and difficulties of a complex matter that could yield dividends to the two economies and help stabilize the security and well-being of the rest of the world.

Over the past decade, sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) have proliferated and have increased their role in the international economy. China now has four SWFs and accounts for one-fifth of global SWF assets. China Investment Corp. (CIC), China's flagship SWF, has increased its assets from $200 billion to an estimated $500 billion in just five years as a result of funding and other support from the Chinese government. This book examines the operations and investment strategy of CIC. It also considers how China's SWFs are being regulated in the United States and internationally. The book builds on hearings and research conducted by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) in 2008. At the time, CIC had just purchased equity in Wall Street firms Morgan Stanley and Blackstone. Since then, CIC has bought shares in dozens of publicly traded U.S. companies, partnered with U.S. fund managers, and provided capital to U.S. energy companies.

Americans have long been ambivalent toward foreign direct investment in the United States. Foreign multinational corporations may be a source of capital, technology, and jobs. But what are the implications for US workers, firms, communities, and consumers as the United States remains the most popular destination for foreign multinational investment? Theodore H. Moran and Lindsay Oldenski find that foreign multinational firms that invest in the United States are, alongside US-headquartered American multinationals, the most productive and highest-paying segment of the US economy. These firms conduct more research and development, provide more value added to US domestic inputs, and export more goods and services than other firms in the US economy. The superior technology and management techniques they employ spill over horizontally and vertically to improve the performance of local firms and workers. As the United States wants not only to expand employment but also create well-paying jobs that reverse the falling earnings that many US workers and middle class families have suffered in recent decades, it is more important than ever to enhance the United States as a destination for multinational investors.

Renewable energy is gaining currency around the globe, but China and the United States are central to its development. They are the world's top-two countries in terms of energy consumption, net oil imports, and carbon emissions, as well as gross domestic product (GDP) and manufacturing. Their large territories harbor some of the best sites to generate renewable energy. If the United States and China cooperate and compete effectively, renewable energy can contribute to economic growth, energy security, and climate change mitigation. The past two years saw important developments, including a bilateral agreement to phase down hydrofluorocarbon emissions and a joint announcement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. China is often touted for its rapid adoption of renewable energy technologies. Long-term industry plans and new legislation suggest Beijing will maintain this policy direction, in line with its overall expansion of energy production capacity. In the United States, by contrast, renewable energy is a divisive issue. There are disagreements about how, if at all, the government should support alternative energy sources when natural gas is abundant, emissions are declining, and energy demand is slowing. This book assesses recent developments in China's wind and solar industries and the implications for the United States. It builds on the Commission's past work on U.S.-China energy issues, including the April 2014 hearing on bilateral clean energy cooperation. The research also draws on Congressional testimonies, academic papers, industry and media reports, and statistical data.

The first volume in the Silk Road Studies in International Economic Law Series, China and International Investment Law: Twenty Years of ICSID Membership examines cutting-edge issues of international investment law and arbitration in interaction with China, the second largest economy of the world. With particular attention to ongoing major negotiations of bilateral and regional investment treaties, including the TPP, TTIP and China's BIT negotiations with the EU and USA, the collection is timely, thorough, and incisive. All readers with an interest in the latest developments in international investment law in general, and the Chinese foreign investment regime in particular, will find an indispensable new resource in this collection of essays from esteemed experts in the field. The volume originated from the "China and ICSID" International Workshop and Roundtable on International Investment Law and Arbitration, organized to commemorate the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the ICSID Convention.

Available online
The hearings cover investment relations between United States and China, Chinese and U.S. government policy regarding technical innovation, technology transfer issues and intellectual property rights in China and the United States.

The authors evaluate the risks and benefits of increased Chinese foreign investment, aiming to improve understanding of its investment patterns and strategy. They consider how U.S. national security might be compromised as well as how the United States and China can benefit from such investment, providing a way to assess national security risks and benefits and examining Chinese investment patterns in both the United States and elsewhere.