Track II Economic Dialogue – Finding Common Ground

The January 2010 dialogue participants in New York.

The inaugural dialogue in New York was co-chaired by Qin Xiao, Hank Greenberg and Carla Hills.

As Jeffrey Schafer presses Yao Yang on a point, Robert Rubin attempts a “two-finger” interjection.

The June 2010 dialogue participants at the Fragrant Hill Hotel in Beijing.

Amb. Hills raises a toast to Chairman Qin Xiao.

Prof. Yao Yang interprets for Lou Jiwei, Chairman of the China Investment Corporation.

Meeting with the China Entrepreneurs Forum at the headquarters of Taikang Insurance.

The American delegation with Yi Gang at the People’s Bank of China.

Amb. Jon. Huntsman Jr. met with the Americans in Beijing.

Building on the success of three rounds of Track II economic dialogues held in partnership with the China Center for Economic Research (CCER), the National Committee convened the dialogue’s fourth meeting in Beijing in July, 2011. The program brings together leading Chinese and American economists and economic thinkers for 1½ days of informal, off-the-record discussions of issues related to U.S.-China economic relations and the global economic system. Mr. Qin Xiao, chairman of the China Merchant Group, led the Chinese delegation; the U.S. side was co-chaired by National Committee Chair Carla Hills and Vice-Chair Maurice R. Greenberg.

Participants in the dialogue (see name list below) engaged in a lively, open and candid discussion that touched on a broad range of subjects including the post-crisis macroeconomic policies of both countries, cross-border investment and trade issues, the internalization and valuation of the RMB, and the need for both market reforms in China and fiscal sustainability in the United States. As with previous sessions of the program, the participants penned a consensus agreement at the conclusion of the dialogue laying out a set of principles that the two countries should adhere to in managing their economic relations. This document will be shared with both governments as they prepare for the next round of the Strategic & Economic Dialogue.

It is interesting to note that, days before the delegation arrived in Beijing, the Chinese Ministry of Finance announced the end of a policy linking government procurement and indigenous innovation, a recommendation that had been offered by the dialogue participants in a previous consensus agreement.

While in Beijing, the American delegation met with several Chinese officials including Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of China, and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, who hosted a luncheon for the delegation.

For more information on past iterations of the dialogue, please click on the drawer below.

PROGRAM PARTNER

PAST DIALOGUES

Past Dialogues

In January, 2010, the National Committee partnered with the China Center for Economic Research (CCER), on a Track II economic dialogue that brought together leading Chinese and American economists and economic thinkers to discuss important issues that affect bilateral relations. (The dialogue followed a half day forum cosponsored by the National Committee, CCER and the New York Stock Exchange.) The head of the Chinese team was Mr. Qin Xiao, chairman of the China Merchant Group; the U.S. side was co-chaired by National Committee chair, Carla Hills and vice-chair, Maurice R. Greenberg.

The informal, off-the-record two-day dialogue was held at the headquarters of C.V. Starr & Company in New York. Participants (see name list below), engaged in a lively and open discussion that touched on a broad range of subjects including the rebalancing of the two economies, the yuan-dollar exchange rate, the trade deficit and borrowing needs of the United States, the need for factor market reforms in China, and the economics of global climate change and energy policy.

At the conclusion of the dialogue, the participants agreed upon a set of principles that the two countries should adhere to in managing economic ties. Following the Dialogue, this consensus was shared with both governments as they prepared for the next round of the official Strategic & Economic Dialogue (S&ED), held in China in June. In April, prior to his departure for the S&ED) Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke invited the American participants to Washington, D.C., for a briefing on the consensus and discussions.

Following on the success of the initial Track II dialogue, most of the dialogue participants from the New York meeting reconvened in Beijing in June for a second session (see name list). Once again, the co-chairs were Qin Xiao, Carla Hills and Maurice R. Greenberg. The one and one-half day dialogue was held at the historic Fragrant Hill Hotel in western Beijing and followed the same open, off-the-record format as the January meeting. This time, the participants took stock of developments in the spring including the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and the S&ED and discussed the two countries’ progress on rebalancing, climate change and energy policy, indigenous innovation in China, cross-border investment and trade.

Once again, the participants reached a consensus on principles that the two countries should follow to improve economic relations and secure mid- to long-term growth; as with the first consensus, this was shared with the two governments.

Within hours after the conclusion of the dialogue on June 19, the People’s Bank of China in Beijing announced it would “proceed further with reform of the RMB exchange rate regime and increase the RMB exchange rate flexibility”, effectively moving the Chinese currency off of the peg to the dollar and returning to a managed float begun in 2005.

While in Beijing, the American delegation also met with U.S. Ambassador Jon M. Huntsman Jr., Lou Jiwei, chairman China Investment Corporation, and Yi Gang, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China and director of the State Administration for Foreign Assets. In addition, the delegation was hosted by the China Entrepreneurs Forum (CEF), an organization of leading entrepreneurs in China, for a discussion on the role and growth of private business in the two countries.

On this trip, the American delegation was also interviewed by China Central Television’s Business Channel – CCTV-2, and had a chance to meet with the National Committee’s Public Intellectual Fellows.

JULY 2011 DIALOGUE PARTICIPANTS

PHOTOS FROM JULY 2011 DIALOGUE

JANUARY 2010 DIALOGUE PARTICIPANTS

Participants

CHINESE

Qin Xiao 秦晓 - Chairman, China Merchants Group; Chairman, Asia Business Council; Non Executive Director, China Telecom Hong Kong; Dialogue Co-Chair
Huang Yiping 黄益平 - Professor, China Center for Economic Research (CCER), Peking University
Lu Feng 卢峰 - Deputy Dean, National School of Development (NSD) and Deputy Director, CCER
Wang Jian-Ye 王建业 - Chief Economist, China Export-Import Bank
Wu Ho-Mou 巫和懋 - Director and Executive Dean, CCER
Xiao Geng 肖耿 - Director, Brookings-Tsinghua Center; Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Global Economy and Development, John L. Thornton China Center, Tsinghua University
Xu Jintao 徐晋涛 - Professor, Natural Resource Economics, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University
Yang Zhuang (John) 杨壮 - International Dean, Beijing International MBA Program at Peking University (BiMBA); Professor of Management, NSD, Peking University; Associate Professor of Management, Fordham University Graduate School of Business
Yao Yang 姚洋 - Deputy Dean, NSD; Director, CCER

AMERICAN

Carla A. Hills - Chair, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations; Co-Chair Council on Foreign Relations; Dialogue Co-Chair
Maurice R. Greenberg - Chairman and CEO, CV Starr & Company; Dialogue Co-Chair
Martin Feldstein - George F. Baker Professor of Economics, Harvard University; President Emeritus; National Bureau of Economic Research
Trevor Houser - Director, Energy and Climate Practice, Rhodium Group, LLC.; Former Senior Advisor to the U.S. Special Envoy on Climate Change
Nicholas R. Lardy - Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics
David R. Malpass - President, Encima Global
Barry Naughton - Professor, Chinese Economy; Sokwanlok Chair of Chinese International Affairs, University of California, San Diego
Stephen A. Orlins - President, National Committee on United States-China Relations
Robert E. Rubin - Co-Chairman, Council on Foreign Relations; Former Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury
Jeffrey R. Shafer - Vice Chairman, Global Banking and Senior Asia Pacific Officer in New York, Citigroup


January 2010 Dialogue Participant Bios.pdf

JANUARY 2010 DIALOGUE PHOTOS

JUNE 2010 DIALOGUE PARTICIPANTS

Participants

CHINESE

Qin Xiao 秦晓 - Chairman, China Merchants Group & China Merchants Bank; Chairman, Asia Business Council; Non-Executive Director, China Telecom Hong Kong; Dialogue Co-Chair
Hu Dayuan 胡大源 - Deputy Dean, National School of Development (NSD), & Dean, Beijing International MBA Program (BiMBA), Peking University
Huang Yiping 黄益平 - Professor, China Center for Economic Research (CCER) & Deputy Director, China Macroeconomic Research Center (CMRC), Peking University
Lu Feng 卢峰 - Deputy Dean, NSD; Director, CMRC
Wang Jian-Ye 王建业 - Chief Economist, China Export-Import Bank
Wu Ho-Mou 巫和懋 - Executive Associate Dean & Langrun Chair Professor, NSD
Xiao Geng 肖耿 - Director, Brookings-Tsinghua Center for Public Policy, School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University; Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
Xu Jintao 徐晋涛 - Chair, Department of Environmental Management & Professor, Natural Resource Economics, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University
Yao Yang 姚洋 - Deputy Dean, NSD; Director, CCER
Zha Daojiong 查道炯 - Professor, School of International Studies, Peking University

AMERICAN

Carla A. Hills - Chair, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations; Co-Chair, Council on Foreign Relations; Dialogue Co-Chair
Maurice R. Greenberg - Chairman and CEO, CV Starr & Company; Dialogue Co-Chair
Trevor Houser - Director, Energy and Climate Practice, Rhodium Group, LLC; Former Senior Advisor to the U.S. Special Envoy on Climate Change
Nicholas R. Lardy - Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics
Michael Mussa - Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics; former director, Department of Research, International Monetary Fund; former member, U.S. Council of Economic Advisors
Barry J. Naughton - Professor, Chinese Economy; Sokwanlok Chair of Chinese International Affairs, University of California, San Diego
Stephen A. Orlins - President, National Committee on United States-China Relations
Robert E. Rubin - Co-Chairman, Council on Foreign Relations; Former Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury