Peace Through Commerce Award: Secretary of Commerce John E. Bryson presented the “Peace Through Commerce Medal Award” to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), a quasi-governmental organization that plays an important role in promoting exports of goods and services, enhancing understanding of business practices, and improving cross-cultural ties. This medal dates back to 1790 to the first U.S. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson during the presidency of George Washington, who presented the medal as a gift to foreign diplomats who aided the Continental Congress during the American Revolution. The Commerce Department later revived the medal, renaming it the “Peace Through Commerce Award,” to reflect the importance of trade as a means to promote international peace and economic stability. The award is given to honor a U.S. or foreign organization or individual based overseas whose actions over a sustained period of time have significantly contributed to the expansion of U.S. exports and have greatly aided the work of the Commerce Department abroad.
Business Agreement Between Solatube CECEP Daylight Technology Company and Chengdu Urban and Rural Construction Commission: Solatube CECEP Daylight Technology Company, a joint venture between U.S. company Solatube International and Chinese company CECEP Industry Development Company, signed an agreement with the Chengdu Urban and Rural Construction Commission (Commission) to use Solatube’s Tubular Daylighting Device (TDD) technology in Chengdu’s low-carbon and renewable energy demonstration projects, which will help meet the Commission’s energy conservation and green technology objectives. Selected as one of China’s “Low Carbon Towns”, Chengdu is promoting a low carbon economy in the city and has designated over 90 square miles for energy efficient building development. Under the agreement, the Commission could purchase up to 200,000 units of Solatube’s TDDs, which could conserve up to 87 million kilowatt hours of electricity and reduce carbon dioxide emission by 190 million pounds. Chengdu could become the biggest TDD-equipped city in the world, potentially creating 200 U.S. jobs, according to Solatube. The total value of the project is over $60 million, with $25 million in U.S. export content.
Framework Agreement Between Motorola Solutions Company and China Railway Signal & Communication Shanghai Engineering Company: Motorola Solutions Company signed a framework agreement with China Railway Signal & Communication Shanghai Engineering Co., Ltd. to build mutual trust and strategic cooperation on the development of the metro market and the promotion of the TETRA, or terrestrial trunked radio, wireless system. The framework agreement emphasizes the cooperation between the United States and China through Motorola Solutions’ contribution to metro rail projects throughout China. According to Motorola, the project potentially creates 77 U.S. jobs. The total value of the project is approximately $14 million, all U.S. export content.
Implementing the “U.S.-China High Technology Trade Key Sectors Cooperation Action Plan”: The Department of Commerce and the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) reached agreement on implementing the “U.S.-China High Technology Trade Key Sectors Cooperation Action Plan”. The implementing language focuses on the actions both sides will take to facilitate civilian high technology trade including export control process improvements such as shortening the review time of End User and End Use certifications issued by MOFCOM, and expansion and cooperation efforts such as promoting the Validated End-User program and engaging in joint outreach.
Progress Report on Cooperative Research on Trade Statistics: The United States and China each publish data that measure the bilateral merchandise trade flows between the two trading partners. Although both countries follow international statistical standards, differences in the merchandise trade statistics arise as a result of data and methodological differences. The progress report provides the status of ongoing work of the JCCT Statistics Working Group to identify the sources of and quantify the differences in the official bilateral statistics published by both countries. This effort is not to change the official statistics reported by either country, but to understand better the data and methodologies used in the collection and compilation of those official trade statistics.
Agreement Between the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) to Promote Trade Through Business Matchmaking: In this agreement, the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service and CCPIT will cooperate to promote U.S. exports to China by physically co-locating certain activities of the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service with those of the CCPIT in fourteen major trade centers in China. The U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service and CCPIT seek to support exports by jointly conducting industry counseling and advocacy sessions; planning, developing, managing and marketing U.S. export promotion events and programs; and cooperating to generate market information products and general outreach activities to promote U.S. exports and commercial interaction. The two sides will also identify and promote suitable trade opportunities for U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service clients and Chinese entities assisted by the CCPIT.
Memorandum of Understanding on Support of the Energy Cooperation Program Between the U.S. Trade & Development Agency (USTDA) and National Energy Administration of China:The U.S.-China Energy Cooperation Program was launched at the 20th JCCT by the U.S. Department of Commerce, USTDA, the Ministry of Commerce, and the National Energy Administration (NEA). This public-private partnership organization has since grown to over 45 member companies and, with government support from both sides, has undertaken a variety of activities to foster a deeper trade relationship across the energy sector. Since 2009, USTDA has supported the group with five grants, two pilot projects, four study tours and many workshops. To continue this cooperation, USTDA will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the NEA at the 22nd JCCT to commit support for a wide range of clean energy activities in 2012. These include activities on clean fuels, energy efficiency, power generation, renewable energy, smart grid, and clean transportation.
The U.S.-China Intellectual Property Rights Cooperation Framework Agreement: The Department of Commerce, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and the Ministry of Commerce signed an Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Cooperation Framework Agreement. The framework will help improve the environment for IPR protection through enhanced collaboration through capacity building, public awareness efforts, and judicial exchanges. It provides an additional tool for engagement on IPR priority issues under the JCCT IPR Working Group.
