Past Events

Although some votes were still to be counted as the Chamber hosted its webinar on the U.S. election on 9 November, it seemed clear that Joe Biden would be the next President of the United States. The change in administration will have will major implications for policy direction. However, the speakers at the event agreed that the U.S. approach to foreign policy – and towards China in particular – was unlikely to change significantly in the near term.

Kelly Ann Shaw, Global Regulator Attorney at Hogan Lovells and former White House official, explained the geopolitical shifts that took place during the Trump administration, including the origins and development trajectory of its trade policies towards China.

She was joined by Heiwai Tang, Professor of Economics, as well as Associate Director of the Asia Global Institute, at the University of Hong Kong, who shared his views on the probable future trends in Sino-U.S. relations. He said he expected to see a return to a more multilateral approach from the U.S., however, he also noted that anti-China sentiment has risen in recent years.

Benjamin Kostrzewa, International Trade Attorney at Hogan Lovells, said that Biden had focused mostly on the pandemic response during his campaign, so did not give clear indications of his foreign policy stance. However, there are factions in both the Republican and Democratic parties that want to see the U.S. take a hard line on China, so there was unlikely to be a major change in approach.

Hogan Lovells