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Department of Commerce

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Fact Sheet

THE UNITED STATES-CHINA GOVERNMENT SIGNING CEREMONY
FACT SHEET
DECEMBER 11, 2007

1. Tourism Memorandum of Understanding
The Commerce Department and China signed a “Memorandum of Understanding Between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the United States of America to Facilitate Outbound Tourist Group Travel from China to the United States.” This MOU, initiated by the JCCT Tourism Working Group, will facilitate group leisure travel from China to the United States and marketing of U.S. travel destinations in China. According to the UN World Tourism Organization, China’s travel market is the fastest growing in the world, with 100 million international travelers by 2020. Chinese visitation is forecasted to reach 579,000 Chinese travelers to the U.S. by 2011, which will increase tourism related exports. By facilitating group leisure travel by Chinese tourists to the United States and by facilitating the U.S. travel industry’s organization and marketing of travel packages to Chinese travel agencies, the U.S. travel and tourism industry will benefit from this tremendous growth in China’s travel market.

2. Guidelines for U.S.-China High-Technology and Strategic Trade Development
The Commerce Department and China signed "Guidelines for U.S.-China High-Technology and Strategic Trade Development," which outline the importance of working cooperatively to achieve the mutual benefits of facilitating safe and secure, bilateral civilian high-technology trade. Under the Guidelines, the JCCT High-Technology Working Group agreed to expand information sharing on market opportunities and identify and eliminate unnecessary barriers to bilateral, civilian high-technology trade.

3. Memorandum of Agreement on the Safety of Drugs and Medical Devices
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) have concluded a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to ensure the safety of drugs and medical devices exported from China to the United States. Under the MOA, SFDA will provide to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) information regarding the certification status of medical devices, finished drug products, active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients against SFDA standards. The two sides will begin implementation by focusing on a list of designated export products SFDA must certify and trace to a registered producer, and on a list of products for export from the United States for which HHS/FDA will share with SFDA open-source information. The MOA also encompasses technical assistance to SFDA and Chinese producers by HHS/FDA, and commits SFDA to facilitate HHS/FDA audits and inspections of farms and factories in China.

4. Memorandum of Agreement on the Safety of Food and Feed
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Chinese General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) have concluded a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to secure the safety of food products and animal feed exported from China to the United States. Implementation will begin with a requirement that exporters of a list of designated products manufactured for export to the United States register with AQSIQ, and that AQSIQ certify those products meet U.S. standards set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by HHS. The MOA encompasses technical assistance to AQSIQ and Chinese producers by HHS/FDA, and commits AQSIQ to facilitate HHS/FDA audits and inspections of farms and factories in China.

5. Treasury Alcohol and Tobacco Agreement
China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury signed a Memorandum of Understanding on December 11, 2007. China and the United States agree to expand cooperation and collaboration to protect the public and to establish a consistent channel for information exchange regarding the import and export of alcohol and tobacco products. This will assist in establishing a mechanism for the exchange of information on regulatory standards for alcohol and tobacco products.

6. U.S. –China Biofuels Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on biofuels cooperation. The two countries agreed to work together on the scientific, technical, and policy aspects of biofuels development, production, and use. These areas include biomass production and sustainability, conversion technologies, bio-based products, and rural development strategies. The MOU stands to benefit U.S. and Chinese agricultural producers as new markets and uses for agricultural commodities and their waste products may be found through increased cooperation, dialogue, exchanges, and projects facilitated by this MOU.

7. U.S.-China Agriculture Science and Technology Protocol
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and China’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) renewed a 2002 protocol that supports the United States policy to establish and expand science and technology exchanges with China to improve market access for agricultural products. Specific areas of cooperation include agricultural biotechnology, natural resource management, dairy production and processing, food safety, agricultural product processing, biofuels research and development, and water-saving agricultural technology. Collaborative research takes place at five virtual laboratories (U.S. and Chinese laboratories performing complementary work on topics of mutual interest) and covers issues related to grazing land ecosystems management, soil and water conservation, wheat quality and pathology, plant genetic resources exchanges, agricultural product processing, and bioenergy.

8. Renewal of Memorandum of Agreement on Cooperation on HIV/AIDS
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Chinese Ministry of Health have renewed and updated a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cooperation on fighting HIV/AIDS, originally signed in 2002. The MOU covers the activities in China of the HHS Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health on the prevention, care, treatment and research of HIV/AIDS, in partnership with Chinese Government and academic institutions.

9. Memorandum of Understanding to Expand U.S. Exports to China
The Commerce Department signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to deepen a partnership formally established between Commerce and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) in 2005 to expand U.S. exports to China in 14 second-tier cities in China – cities that, like the larger urban centers, are home to China’s burgeoning middle class. With China's second-tier cities that make up the program growing at a faster rate than China as a whole, American companies will find more exporting opportunities in these previously overlooked but dynamic markets. Under the MOU, China will continue to work with the Commerce Department to strengthen networks to reach more Chinese consumers and bring new technology and services to more regions in China.

10. Medical Equipment Agreement
The Export-Import Bank of China (China Exim Bank) and HSBC signed a Credit Agreement for importing medical equipment for Liaocheng People’s Hospital Project in Shandong Province in the amount of $5.19 million dollars. The credit supports the imports of advanced medical equipment from overseas for the hospital. In 2005, the Ministry of Finance and U.S. Ex-Im Bank signed a Framework Agreement with the purpose of supporting the exports of U.S. goods and services to China. During the second meeting of the Strategic Economic Dialogue, China Exim Bank and U.S. Ex-Im Bank signed a Letter of Intent for cooperation on the Liaocheng People’s Hospital project. This Credit Agreement is the first agreement signed under the Framework Agreement and shows significant progress in Sino-U.S. export credit cooperation.

11. U.S.-China Environmental Industries Forum Memorandum of Cooperation
The Environmental Protection Agency, Commerce Department, and China’s State Environmental Protection Agency signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to launch the Environmental Industries Forum (EIF), a government-private sector dialogue initiated by the JCCT Environment Subgroup. The EIF will bring U.S. and Chinese government and industry representatives together to develop policies and business projects to increase the deployment of environmental technologies and to address China’s environmental concerns. The EIF will seek to facilitate trade to China’s environmental market, which has grown over 235% to $19 billion since 2000.