Additional records documenting the activities of the Council in facilitating the development of trade relations between the United States and China. See also the finding aid to the initial accession of records.

Series Description and Container List
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Scope and Content Note

The initial accession of Council records documents the formation of the Council and its role in establishing trade relations with China, 1973‑78.  An overview of the Council's formation, programs, and services is given in the finding aid to those records.  This accretion documents the ongoing activities of the Council during the eventful years from 1979‑82.  On January 1, 1979, the United States and China normalized diplomatic relations.  A visit to the U.S. by Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping, the opening of embassies, settlement of the private claims issue, a new trade agreement, and the establishment of a Council office in Beijing followed normalization.  Two major exhibitions were staged in 1980, an American exhibition in Beijing and a PRC exhibition which traveled to San Francisco, Chicago, and New York.  The Council's participation in all of these events is reflected in the records.

Scope and Content of the NCUSCT Records

The primary functions of the Council continued to be business advisory services, information, delegations, briefings and conferences, publications, and government relations.  The files document these ongoing activities, but change and new areas of involvement are also evident.  One new area of interest was in exhibitions, and the files contain information on Chinese and American exhibitions, the Council's endeavor to define its role in regard to exhibitions, and the creation and activities of the Exhibitions Committee.  A significant amount of committee activity is also reflected in the files of the Legal, Telecommunications, and Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Committees.  The Council continued to address the concerns of its member companies and the files contain information on such issues as selling technology to China, export controls and licensing, import quotas, and shipping problems.  Government relations activities are evident in the congressional testimony given by Council staff, monitoring of legislation affecting trade, briefings provided for government officials, regular meetings held by Council and Department of Commerce staff, and cooperative efforts in exhibitions, conferences, and delegations.

Audiovisual Materials

Photographs, slides, and audiocassettes were removed from the collection during processing and transferred to the audiovisual department. View the finding aid for those items here.

Related Materials (Date):

See finding aid to accession 84‑40.

 

ACRONYMS

BAS                     Business Advisory Services

CBR                     The China Business Review

CCPIT                 China Council for the Promotion of International Trade

CECF                   Chinese Export Commodities Fair

EXIMBank          Export‑Import Bank

FTC                      Foreign Trade Corporation

ISC                      Importers Steering Committee

MFN                    Most Favored Nation

NCUSCT             National Council for United States‑China Trade

PRC                     People's Republic of China

PRCLO                People's Republic of China Liaison Office

USLO                  United States Liaison Office

Extent

83.5 linear feet (ca. 167,000 pages)

Record Type
Textual
Donor

The National Council for United States‑China Trade (accession number 86‑30)

Last Modified Date
Collection Type
Personal Papers
Access

Open.  Some items are temporarily restricted under terms of the donor's deed of gift, a copy of which is available on request, or under National Archives and Records Administration general restrictions (36 CFR 1256).

Copyright

The Council has donated to the United States of America its copyrights in all of its unpublished writings in National Archives collections, but retains copyright interests in its publications.  The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them.  Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain.

Processed by

Helmi Raaska, July 1990

Series List

LIST OF SERIES

 

Containers                   Series

1‑192                           See finding aid to accession 84‑40 

National Council Administrative Files

193‑194                            Annual Meetings

195                                   General Correspondence  

196‑201                            Cables  

202‑204                            Subject File  

205‑207                            Chronological Files  

208‑210                            Central Files  

211‑213                            Account Files

 

Business Advisory Services Department  

214‑221                            Member Company Files  

222‑240                            Staff Files

Importer Services  

240‑242                            Committees  

242‑244                            Delegations  

245‑248                            Canton Fair  

249‑250                            Subject File

Exporter Services  

251‑253                            Abstracts  

253‑276                            Committees  

276‑287                            Subject File

 

                                    Delegations Department  

288‑292                            General Files  

293‑295                            Issues File  

295‑296                            Delegations Material  

296‑302                            Subject File  

303‑333                            Delegations from China  

334‑361                            Delegations to China

                                   

Publications and Research Department

Administrative Files  

362‑368                               Council  

368‑370                               Outside Organizations

Publications  

370‑373                               China Business Review

373‑374                               Other Publications

375‑377                            Publications Staff Subject File

 

Nicholas Ludlow  

377‑378                            Articles  

378‑380                            Conferences  

380‑383                            Delegations  

383‑384                            Speeches  

385‑389                            Subject File  

389‑390                            Testimonies ‑ Hearings  

391‑395                            Council Publications  

396‑402                            China Business Review Background Files

 

Series Descriptions

National Council Administrative Files 

The administrative files are the record of the Council's umbrella activities: preparation for and proceedings of the annual membership meetings, general correspondence, cable traffic in and out of the Washington office, and subject files relating to the Council's major activities and internal operations.  Three new series are included in this accretion: a central file for material relating to Chinese organizations and American universities, account files for delegations and special events, and the President's and Vice President's (Christopher H. Phillips and Roger W. Sullivan) chronological files.  Several series which were part of the initial accession were not received with this accretion: Board of Directors Meetings; Associations, Councils, Societies, Committees; Government Agencies; State Files; and Staff Files.  The Ford Library did not retain the Office Reading File.

 

Business Advisory Services Department

The Council provided business advisory services to its member companies through the Importer Services and Exporter Services Departments.  These departments merged in July 1982 to create the Business Advisory Services Department.  Most of the records predate the formal merger, so Importer Services Files and Exporter Services Files appear as units within the department.  Member Company Files and Staff Files are in single series, rather than being part of either importer or exporter services.

The organization of Business Advisory Services provided for three assistant directors, each of whom would take responsibility for certain sectors and all of the companies and committees within those sectors.  This shift of focus from importers and exporters to sectors is evident in some of the staff files.

Since staff files comprise a significant portion of the records, staff names, positions, and areas of responsibility are listed below.

Carolyn Brehm ‑ Director, Importer Services; Director, Business Advisory Services

Harold Champeau ‑ Assistant Director, Exporter Services (agriculture)

Jeanne Chiang ‑ Assistant Director, Business Advisory Services (legal, agriculture)

David Denny ‑ Assistant Director, Business Advisory Services (petroleum, banking, energy)

Norman Getsinger ‑ Director, Exporter Services

Richard Gillespie ‑ Assistant Director, Exporter Services; Assistant Director, Business Advisory Services (exhibitions, engineering)

Andrew Heyden ‑ Assistant Director, Importer Services; Assistant Director, Business Advisory Services (textiles, agriculture)

Jean Hoffmam ‑ Associate, Importer Services; Assistant Director, Importer Services

Ernest Staber ‑ Assistant Director, Exporter Services (exhibitions)

Mary Tuck/Michele Provost ‑ Executive Secretary, Exporter Services

 

Delegations Department

The Council sponsored delegations, cooperated with other organizations in hosting visiting Chinese, and occasionally provided contract services to U.S. government‑sponsored delegations.  Other departments and staff were involved with receiving and sending missions, but this department was responsible for coordinating and providing logistical support to all delegations.

Stephanie Green and Richard Glover were named co‑directors of the department in February 1979.  When Glover became the Council's first Beijing representative in 1980, Green became the department's director.

Delegations to and from China played an important role in trade development, especially from 1977 through 1980.  In 1981 both China and the U.S. began to reassess the value of the types of delegations that had been exchanged during the past years.  The early Chinese missions had been large survey delegations, but the current situation called for smaller, more specific delegations with high‑level members who had decision‑making authority.  The multi‑company U.S. missions were no longer useful to firms that had established direct contacts in the PRC, and these firms were now arranging their own trips to China.  Budget considerations were also a major factor in the reassessment of delegations.

In response to changing circumstances, the Council restructured the Delegations Department into a Programs and Government Relations Department in May 1981.  The programs aspect was to be delegations and briefings/conferences.  The Government Relations activities were to be centered on becoming the focal point of information within the Council on U.S. government involvement with China.  The department would no longer provide logistical support to delegations sponsored by other departments.  Stephanie Green continued as director of the restructured department.

The records here are related to delegations, and do not reflect programs and government relations activities.  A small amount of material relating to the Programs and Government Relations Department is included in the Exporter Services Subject File in box 286.

 

Publications and Research Department

This department was responsible for production and promotion of the China Business Review and the Council's other publications.  In addition to research and writing for publications, the staff also assisted in the preparation of speeches, articles, testimony,briefing books, and issues papers.  Nicholas H. Ludlow, director of the department through October 1982, was also responsible for public and press relations and operation of the library.  In May 1979 Ludlow's title was changed to Executive Director for Publications, Research and Planning.

The series are basically the same as in the initial accession:  Administrative Files, Council Publications, and China Business Review Background Files.  The Publications Staff Subject File is a new series.  Extensive Nicholas Ludlow files were received, but not other staff files.