A lively gathering of AmCham China members filled the WeWork Sanlitun space on January 24, as attendees were joined by US Embassy representatives to kick off the 2019 Engagement Series, a year-long series of events and programs aimed at building mutual understanding of US engagements in China by sharing the collective stories of American businesses with the Chinese people. Following some welcome remarks by AmCham China President Alan Beebe (pictured below) and an introduction to the series by Chamber staff, attendees then split off into industry-specific groups to brainstorm how their industries or sectors can work to foster mutual understanding between the people of both countries.
Attendees were also asked to share some of the successes they had overseen at their companies, which had direct benefits to both countries. A Dow representative explained how their role in agriculture aims to benefit the US and China both economically and politically, while a partner at Beijing DHH Law Firm detailed how his company works according to China’s legal framework to protect IP rights for both domestic and overseas clients. Other companies represented at the event included State Street, Conoco Phillips, Deloitte, APCO, Dell, Cargill, and IBM, plus two of the Chamber’s Digital Circle partners, Intel and Plug & Play. In addition to representatives from the Beijing community, the networking session drew attendees from our Chapters, including Tianjin Chapter Chairman Martin Winchell.
Attention now turns to the 2019 Engagement Series’ first full event, which will focus on food safety and be held towards the end of February. New technologies in food production, processing, and distribution can help provide access to safe food – a requirement for a healthy population – but new challenges for food safety also arise as many new processes are, as yet, unregulated and international standards have yet to emerge. American food suppliers and producers in China bring technology from the US, and help Chinese companies to adopt best practices, while abiding by Chinese FDA regulations. The event, which will also include a site tour of a food processing or packaging facility, will showcase emerging technologies across the supply chain from processing to distribution. Details of this event will be announced soon on our Events page.
For any questions about the Engagement Series, please contact Evan Schmitt at eschmitt@amchamchina.org
