A traditional “D.C. doorknock” consists of 3-4 days on the Hill jam-packed with meetings with Members of Congress and their staff. AmCham’s doorknock was certainly no exception; we had more than 40 meetings on the Hill including sit-downs with congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle in the House and the Senate. However, early on the planning process it was decided that on this doorknock we would also target key China policy experts working in highly influential D.C. think tanks. Well known in policy circles, think tanks are often critical to developing U.S. government policy on a range of issues and populated with former (and future) Administration officials with strong connections to key government decision makers. For AmCham Shanghai, meeting with these organizations and developing longer term relationships is a part of our effort to ensure the voice of American business in China is being heard at the highest levels in Washington, D.C.
During our trip, the delegation met with the Peterson Institute, led by C. Fred Bergston, a former Ass’t Secretary of Treasury credited with driving the “G-2” (China and the U.S.) concept. Delegates also met with Charles Freeman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Formerly the US Trade Representative for Greater China, Charles is a long time friend of AmCham Shanghai. And finally we met with the Brookings Institute led by well known China expert and author, Ken Lieberthal.
For a run-down on Monday’s discussion at Brookings, please see the post – A Roundtable with Brookings.
