USITO has three policy working groups focusing on the key policy areas of mutual interest to both US and Chinese industry and policy makers: Innovation, Convergence, and Sustainability.

Innovation and Competitiveness Work Group (ICWG): Innovation and Competitiveness have become a key focus of China's 11th Five Year Plan (2006-2011) and mid to long term S&T plan, as well as various competitiveness initiatives in the US. The ICWG focuses on the "ecosystem" of policies that help to foster, protect, and facilitate the distribution and application of innovation. This touches on a wide range of areas directly impacting the business of USITO members in China including IPR, standards, competition law, market access (including government procurement and export regulations) as well as such matters as national R&D policy and issues surrounding the financing of innovation. The ICWG focuses on helping develop polices that will contribute to a business environment for our members that promotes sustainable innovation and competitiveness.

Sustainability Work Group (SWG): Sustainability has become an increasingly critical area for policy and regulation, as well as standards around the world. The SWG focuses on contributing to the development of appropriate policies, standards and implementation procedures in this area that will help our members succeed in the China market place. Topics addressed include Environment, Health and Safety (EHS), including the development and implementation of standards such as RoHS, WEEE, energy efficiency, and standards for handset emissions.

Convergence and Digital Media Forum (CDF): The CDG will focus on communications industry regulation (including the telecom law, triple play, licensing) and linkages with overall industry development (including convergence of networks, devices, content and even business models and regulatory regimes) all of which will shape-and shake-our future industry environment.

EVENTS

Monthly Policy Group conference call meetings: Each policy working group has a regular monthly meeting in Beijing with call in facility for US and other out of town based reps to access the meetings. SWG meetings are on the first Thursday, ICWG on the second Thursday, and CDG on the third Thursday of each month, starting at 8am Beijing time. This will ensure that China and US based reps have the chance to regularly connect with each other, provide updates on developments and policy priorities in China and the US, and help shape the action agenda of USITO to address these priorities with constructive engagements including research, position papers and events.

Seminars, Forums, Roundtables, and Delegations: USITO advances the interests of its members through a range of activities, including policy roundtables, seminars, high-level meetings, and forums on key industry developments. Examples include:

Salon lunches and dinners for senior officials and other VIPs.

Seminars with new national technical standards across a range of product categories

Roundtables with the State Council Information Technologies Office on the drafting of rules for government procurement

China State Council Interagency meetings on Innovation

Hosting senior US officials to special member consultations on market developments

U.S. - China Telecommunication Dialogue Summit.

PUBLICATIONS

USITO issues a wide range of publications to its members on a regular bases.

Daily RSS News Feeds: USITO's content website, ChinaTzone.com has a special news column-TNews, in XML protocol. At the start of each working day the USITO research team picks key hi-tech news from a variety of sources and posts them to ChinaTzone. Members can subscribe as well to automatic RSS feeds from the site.

Weekly China Market Summary: A product of over 5-years history, with thousands of recipients from the Chinese and U.S. ICT industries. The newsletter is distributed via email and also available online, covering recent developments in China's IT market. The newsletter alerts readers to changes in policy and regulation and provides industry news broken down by sector, as well as translations of regulations, policies, speeches, and statistics relevant to our members. Key columns include: Special Issues of the Week, Selected China Media Report, and Regulations Update.

Monthly Policy Dashboard: The monthly policy newsletter is prepared for USITO members actively engaged in China related ICT policy work. It covers the latest news on policy and regulatory updates and trends. It also reports the activities of USITO's working groups during the past month.

Other Periodicals: USITO also publishes about six times a year special Issue Reports, which provide members in-depth analyses of important trends and developments in the China market crucial to our member's business success. These reports are based on first-hand research and interviews to provide member companies with information vital to strategic planning and decision-making.

MARKET INTELLIGENCE

Tailored Research and Advisory Services:USITO also responds to member requests, providing information on hand on policies and regulations, industry statistics, companies, government agencies, regulators, and localities. USITO also provides briefings on industry developments for senior executives from member companies visiting China, or during visits to U.S. by USITO representatives.

Knowledge Center:USITO Knowledge Center is accessible only to members in chinaTzone.com. USITO maintains the best IT sector-specific library and information resource center in China. Important articles are regularly added to a searchable archive that is open to member companies for research purposes.

ChinaTzone Information and Collaboration Site:USITO members gain unlimited access to the USITO content website www.chinatzone.com, which includes a rich online research database with presentations, translated regulations, and industry and hot issue reports. ChinaTzone also runs China¡¯s only IT-specific English-language public blog system, with active participation by executives and experts from the U.S. and Chinese ICT Industry. The USITO president¡¯s blog carries the latest perspectives of USITO on China market developments. In addition, ChinaTzone provides online meeting places for specialized topics and work groups, where members meet and collaborate on a range of special topics through a password access sub zone. USITO¡¯s complete range of research products are integrated with ChinaTzone.