Bridging the Gap: Assessing U.S. Business Community Support for U.S.-China Competition
Abstract
During its four years, the administration of President Donald Trump pursued an enhanced - and, in some ways, novel - set of policies to confront China over its economic policies, including China's theft of technology and intellectual property (IP), limitations to market access for U.S. businesses, and other anticompetitive behaviors. How did the U.S. business community view the Trump administration's economic policies focused on the People's Republic of China (PRC), and did it broadly support increased U.S. efforts to counter problematic PRC economic behavior? If not, how could the U.S. government implement policy to better achieve policy goals and at the same time address corporate concerns? In this report we attempt to answer these questions that are central to whether the U.S. government has crafted an overall economic strategy or approach to China that is sustainable and feasible. The views of the business community on how the United States should deal with China are an overlooked and underappreciated topic, and the United States may find it difficult to compete against China without support from the business community. This report analyzes how the U.S. business community - specifically, the manufacturing, technology, and financial sectors - viewed the Trump administration's China policies through several different lenses: (1) from the perspective of individuals working in different industries, (2) from the perspective of different firms over time, and (3) from the perspective of specific industry sectors and subsectors. The analysis focuses on Trump administration actions toward China from 2017 through the fall of 2020. The RAND Corporation team concluded the majority of the research for this report in October 2020 and before the November 2020 presidential elections.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 17, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1168978
Entities
People
- Andy Law
- Bonny Lin
- Cristina L. Garafola
- Eugeniu Han
- Howard J. Shatz
- King Mallory
- Nathan Chandler
- Zev Winkelman
Organizations
- RAND Corporation