The 19th China-U.S. Legal Exchange Seminar, jointly sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, the Legislative Affair Office of the State Council and the U.S.Department of Commerce, was held in Beijing and Wuhan on January 13-15, 2015, with the topics of the legal system on atmospheric pollution control and the system of e-commerce data protection in the United States. Chinese Assistant Minister of Commerce Tong Daochi and General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Commerce Kelly Welsh attended the seminar and made speeches.
Tong said that China and the U.S. have had favorable relations and the economies of the two countries have become the double engines to drive global economic growth, which is of great significance to promoting the recovery and growth of the global economy.
Tong pointed out that China’s increasingly serious atmospheric pollution has proven that the extensive economic growth mode at the expense of sacrificing resources and environment is difficult to sustain. Serious air pollution happened in California of the U.S. and caused major hazard 40 years ago. However, the U.S. now has improved its air quality through the formulation and amendment of laws, and governance according to law. This seminar could provide more beneficial experience to China for the amendment of the Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Law and related pollution control work.
Tong said that the rapid development of e-commerce has become a brilliant highlight of China’s economic development. China has become the largest online retail market in the world. With the prosperity of e-commerce, related legal construction is expected to be strengthened. China-U.S. cooperation and exchanges on strengthening governance, standardization, promotion and protection of network security will certainly play positive roles in the healthy development of the network and promoting global economic and social development and the comprehensive human progress.
Tong stressed that, for 30 years, China-U.S. legal exchanges have made great contributions in promoting mutual understanding of their commercial legal systems and safeguarding the healthy development of bilateral economic and trade relations. The two parties should focus on the realities of economic and trade development, forge ahead and be innovative, making the legal exchange show its own characteristics and brand.
Experts from the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Ministry of Commerce and colleges and universities made keynote speeches, and Chinese experts made comments in combination with Chinese practice. Participants had deep discussions with U.S. experts on related issues. More than 400 people from central and local authorities, public institutions, colleges, research institutions, law offices and enterprises attended the seminar.