Wednesday, February 11, 2026 | 12:00 AM EST
American companies operating in China are navigating a period of adjustment shaped by economic and political uncertainty, evolving regulatory priorities, and a shifting bilateral relationship. While longstanding structural challenges remain, the latest data suggest a more nuanced picture than simple narratives of decline or decoupling—one marked by adaptation, selective investment, and cautious optimism about the year ahead.
In a conversation recorded February 11, 2026, Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Maurice R. Greenberg senior fellow for China Studies the Council on Foreign Relations, speaks with Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, about AmCham China’s 2026 China Business Climate Survey Report which was published in January. Mr. Hart discusses why “resilience” emerged as the report’s central theme, the shift in top business challenges from geopolitics to China’s slowing economy, and the implications of improved bilateral sentiment following renewed high-level engagement.
Speaker
Michael Hart
Michael Hart is president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China based in Beijing. He has over twenty-five years of business experience in Asia, including nineteen years in mainland China. As president, Mr. Hart oversees all advocacy, programs, partnerships, and insights provided by the Chamber to support the business growth of nearly 900 foreign corporations operating in China, including most of the U.S. Fortune 500.
Prior to joining AmCham China, Mr. Hart spent most of his career in commercial real estate in Taipei, Shanghai, and Tianjin. He opened a private consulting and investment firm that, among other projects, invested in quick service restaurants.
Mr. Hart holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is a fluent speaker of Mandarin Chinese.
Moderator
Zongyuan Zoe Liu
Zongyuan Zoe Liu is the Maurice R. Greenberg senior fellow for China studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Her work focuses on international political economy, global financial markets, sovereign wealth funds, supply chains of critical minerals, development finance, emerging markets, energy and climate change policy, and East Asia-Middle East relations. Dr. Liu is the author of Can BRICS De-dollarize the Global Financial System? (2022) and Sovereign Funds: How the Communist Party of China Finances its Global Ambitions (2023).
Dr. Liu received her Ph.D. in international relations from Johns Hopkins University and her MA in international relations from the George Washington University Elliott School of International Studies. She received her BA in history from Shandong Normal University in Jinan, China.
