USTDA Regional Brief - East Asia

USTDA advances economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle-income countries. The agency funds various forms of technical assistance, early investment analysis, training, orientation visits and business workshops that support the development of a modern infrastructure and a fair and open trading environment.

China

USTDA’s program in China focuses on trade capacity building initiatives and projects in the environment (air and water pollution), clean energy, and aviation safety/security sectors. These projects aim to provide significant opportunities and benefits to both China and the United States, and build upon existing agreements and cooperative initiatives. USTDA projects in China include the following:

IPR / Banking / Standards and Policy Initiatives

Banking Sector Prudent Lending Practices – A $325,282 USTDA grant to the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) funded a technical assistance program that involved training for mid- and senior-level Chinese banking officials on modern risk management, bank performance analysis and operation of commercial banks in an evolving regulatory context. The American Bankers Association (ABA) International was administering and sharing the cost of a customized training program based on the ABA’s “Business of Banking School” curriculum, while the CBRC coordinated the training with China Association of Banks and its membership.

Agricultural Biotechnology Training (Phase II) – USTDA has coordinated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on an agricultural biotechnology training program for Chinese officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ). The program is supported through a public-private partnership that includes U.S. agricultural biotechnology firms, industry associations and the U.S. Government. The Phase I training program, which USTDA funded with a $550,000 grant, provided general training on the nature, use and regulation of modern agricultural biotechnology. USTDA has provided $625,000 for Phase II, which include a series of training workshops that address specific regulatory and monitoring mechanisms, including food and environmental safety information, labeling practices, science-based assessment principles, risk communications and outreach, food supply chain processes and testing methodologies. The Iowa Farm Bureau is the contractor for this assistance.

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Training – USTDA approved $383,000 for IPR training for officials from China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC). The program follows previous USTDA-funded assistance on “Trade Capacity Building and Customs Modernization in China.” The success of the previous USTDA program prompted GAC to request additional technical assistance specifically on IPR issues. Part of GAC’s mission is to limit shipments of counterfeit goods. The training is intended to help reduce these shipments by upgrading the training of GAC’s inspectors.

Standards and Conformity Assessment Cooperation – In 2006, a $500,000 USTDA grant launched the U.S.-China Standards and Conformity Assessment Cooperation Program (SCACP), an innovative public-private sector initiative designed to expand cooperative technical efforts in standards. The program consists of a series of seminars, workshops and training modules that will enable U.S. industry and government representatives to engage their Chinese counterparts on specific industry sectors and trade-related standards. The contractor for the program is the National Electrical Manufacturers Association. USTDA funding will be matched by industry contributions.

Transportation

U.S.-China Aviation Cooperation Program (ACP) – The ACP is a public-private partnership between the USTDA, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC) and the U.S. aviation industry to engage the CAAC through training on priority development projects. USTDA has provided funding for Phases I, II and III of the ACP. A $500,000 USTDA grant helped launch ACP Phase I, carried out in 2004 and 2005, which included operational and management training, aircraft certification assessment, and technical assistance on air traffic flow management and collaborative decision-making to CAAC officials. ACP Phase II, carried out in 2005 and 2006, focused on aircraft certification and managerial training and was funded by a $1.266 million USTDA grant and matching ACP member funds totaling $2.3 million. ACP Phase III will be carried out in 2007 and 2008. A $1.689 million USTDA grant was awarded in 2007 to support this technical cooperation initiative. The Phase III program is comprised of technical and managerial training, technical assistance on aircraft continued airworthiness, maintainability and certification training, market assessment of the regional and general aviation in China and the preliminary study of an Air Traffic Flow Management System in China.

US-China Aviation Summit – USTDA contributed $250,000 towards the U.S.-China Aviation that was held in 2006. The summit conference included high-level meetings, plenary workshops, one-on-one meetings, and receptions with primary focus on topics including, but not limited to, air traffic control and management, aviation security and efficiency, airport modernization, airspace architecture and general aviation. The Chinese delegates were from the CAAC, regional CAAC offices, Air Traffic Management Bureau officials and corporate representatives from Chinese airlines. The American Association of Airport Executives organized this conference.

Environment

Guangdong Pearl River Delta Urban Environment – USTDA provided $310,825 to the Guangdong Provincial Office for World Bank Projects to fund a study that involved providing technical support to improve water, wastewater and waste management development in the Pearl River Delta area of Guangdong Province. The contractor for this study was Metcalf & Eddy, Inc.

Hangzhou Hazardous Waste Management Facility – USTDA provided a $223,256 grant to support the State Environmental Protection Administration, working in cooperation with Hangzhou Dadi Environmental Technology Company and the Hangzhou Environmental Protection Bureau, on a private sector-led development project for hazardous waste management facilities in the city of Hangzhou. Louis Berger was selected as the contractor to carry out the study.

Shanxi Continuous Emissions Monitoring – USTDA provided $186,400 to assist the Shanxi Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau in assessing the engineering and financial feasibility of developing specifications for installation, performance, data management and quality assurance/quality control of continuous emissions monitoring systems.

Shandong Flue Gas Desulphurization – A $515,300 USTDA grant is assisting the Shandong Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau in the technical assessment, financial analysis and implementation planning of installing flue gas desulphurization and particulate control technologies in eight coal-fired power plants in Shandong Province, China.

Shandong Water Quality Improvement Project – This $343,480 grant is providing the Shandong Province Environment Protection Bureau with a study of a water quality improvement and watershed pollution assessment project in northeastern China. The U.S. contractor for the study is BioChem Technology, Inc.

Energy

Coal Mine/Coal Bed Methane Power Plant – USTDA provided a $502,850 grant to Shanxi Jincheng Anthracite Coal Mining Group (JMG) for preliminary project design, technical specifications and procurement assistance related to the implementation of the innovative power plant project. The USTDA funding supported a contract between JMG and SCS Engineers, Inc. of Long Beach, CA. The $120 million power plant project, which has received funding support from the Asian Development Bank, will be the largest coal mine methane power facility in the world. The project resulted in a $56 million contract between JMG and Caterpillar, Inc., based in Peoria, Illinois.

Shenyang Polygeneration – USTDA provided $523,869 to support a study for the Hunnan International Technopolis Shenyang to examine an integrated coal gasification, power generation and district-heating project, using advanced coal utilization and processing technology. Nexant, Inc. was selected to perform the study.

Mongolia

USTDA hopes to increase its engagement with Mongolia in a number of sectors with the objective of promoting economic reform and integration into the regional economy. Recent USTDA projects in Mongolia have involved the aviation sector, focusing on systems upgrades and training to improve safety. Below are brief descriptions of the most recent projects.

Airline Expansion Plan Technical Assistance – This $500,000 technical assistance project is to facilitate Eznis Airways LLC (Eznis Airways), a Mongolia start-up airline business, in devising a strategic expansion plan for its commercial aviation business. The U.S. contractor for this assistance will be selected through a competitive bidding process.

Standards Development Capacity Building – In 2007, USTDA funded a ten-day orientation visit for senior Mongolian representatives to visit the United States to discuss technical and policy aspects of standards, certification and conformity assessment procedures. The visit aimed to familiarize the Mongolian delegates with the U.S. market-driven strategy for the development, issuance and implementation of standards, and the role of the U.S. government and non-governmental standards associations in this process. The itinerary included Washington, DC; the Philadelphia, PA area; Peoria and Chicago, IL; and Milwaukee, WI. The visit was conducted by Meridian International.