BEIJING – The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (AmCham Shanghai) applauded China's pledge to ensure a fair and level playing field for US companies competing in China's "strategic, newly emerging industries", and the new energy vehicle market. China will also continue a high-level program to improve intellectual property rights (IPR) enforcement.

Commitments were made at the 22nd US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) held in Chengdu, captial of Southwest China's Sichuan province. At the meeting, China also confirmed a 10 trillion yuan ($1.7 trillion) investment over the next five years in targeted sectors focusing mainly on clean energy and clean energy technology, according to media reports.

"Clearly, there is more work to be done but implementing commitments made this time, and those of previous JCCT meetings, will help ensure US companies have free and fair access to the China market, which will create American jobs and contribute to China's own development goals,"said Brenda Foster, president of AmCham Shanghai.

The Chamber also welcomed China's pledge not to require US automakers to provide new energy vehicle technology to Chinese partners as a precondition to compete in China's new energy vehicle market, expected to reach 1 million vehicles by 2015 according to the US Department of Commerce.

AmCham Shanghai member companies were pleased to see positive steps taken in the development of improved protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights by making permanent the 2010 Special IPR Campaign. The new leadership structure, led by Vice-Premier Wang Qishan, will coordinate IPR enforcement across China. According to a recent survey by AmCham Shanghai, IPR remains a problem for American companies.

"Enforcement is the key,"said Foster. "We support the move to make China's campaign to enforce IPR permanent, and all other measures which would help ensure a company's IP is safe and secure. This is critical not only to US competitiveness in China but to China's own progress toward developing an innovation based economy.”

On their way to Chengdu, US Secretary of Commerce John Bryson, US Ambassador to China Gary Locke, US Trade Representative Ron Kirk and other members of the US delegation stopped in Beijing for a roundtable discussion with more than 30 business leaders from AmCham Shanghai, AmCham-China, AmCham South China and the US-China Business Council as part of their preparations for the JCCT meetings.

"China is a market that all US companies, big and small, must either be in or have plans to be in," said Robert Roche, vice-chairman of AmCham Shanghai.

"The JCCT meetings that were held this week are a perfect example of how the US government can support business success in China. I'd like to congratulate US Secretary of Commerce Bryson, Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack, US Ambassador to China Locke, US Trade Representative Kirk and the rest of the negotiating team for a productive JCCT session in Chengdu," Roche said.