News release: “The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) [April 10, 2008] issued China: Description of Selected Government Practices and Policies Affecting Decision Making in the Economy [270 pages, PDF]. The ITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency, prepared the report at the request of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Ways and Means. As requested, the ITC described and, where possible, quantified numerous practices and policies that central, provincial, and local government bodies in China use to support and attempt to influence decision making in China’s manufacturing, agricultural, and services sectors. The report provides a description of government practices and policies in China with respect to industrial development, the rationalization and closure of uneconomic enterprises, privatization of state-owned enterprises and private ownership, price coordination, utility rates, taxation, the banking and finance sectors, infrastructure development, research and development, worker training and retraining, and restraints on imports and exports. The report also provides an analysis of the likely impact of the December 2006 policy directive from China’s State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, a directive that outlines the industries the Chinese government considers to be strategically important.”