AmCham in southwest China suspends operations at ‘48 hours’ notice’
- Group tells members it is acting in accordance with relevant Chinese laws, as person familiar with matter flags ‘compliance issue’ related to non-profits
- Website of Chengdu-based AmCham Southwest, representing over 300 member companies, was down for maintenance on Tuesday and its WeChat account name had changed
The American Chamber of Commerce in southwestern China has abruptly suspended operations, the organisation representing US businesses in the region said.
In a message to its members, the group said it would stop operations from Monday and “no longer carry out any activities” under its name, AmCham Southwest, “in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations of the People’s Republic of China”.
Benjamin Wang, chairman of AmCham Southwest, said in a message to the South China Morning Post on Tuesday that the group was “still working with the local government to resolve the issue”, without elaborating.
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The Chengdu-based non-profit organisation, which represents over 300 member companies, was established in 1996 and covers a region including Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Chongqing and Tibet. Its website was no longer available on Tuesday, and the page bore a message saying that it was undergoing some work and would “be back shortly”.
This comes after strained relations between China and the US saw the closure of the American consulate in Chengdu last July, in a reciprocal measure after the US closed down the Chinese consulate in Houston over espionage claims.
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A person familiar with the matter said the AmCham Southwest situation was not related to the earlier closure of the US consulate in Chengdu, and may instead be a result of the Ministry of Civil Affairs enforcing the rule that there can only be one AmCham – the Beijing-registered AmCham China.
The individual said representatives from multiple authorities had entered the AmCham Southwest office over the situation, but that it may be able to continue operating under a separate name – the Chengdu American Chamber of Commerce Business Consulting Co.
AmCham Southwest’s official WeChat account officially changed its name to “Chengdu American Chamber of Commerce Business Consulting Co” on Monday.
A second person familiar with the situation said that AmCham Southwest had a “compliance issue”, as it was operating in a grey area between a non-profit and a wholly foreign-owned enterprise, but it was now converting to the latter.
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A representative for AmCham China did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while AmCham Shanghai said they had no information on the matter. These are independent organisations, despite sharing similar names under the American Chamber of Commerce umbrella.
A third person familiar with the situation said on Tuesday afternoon that the organisation was informed of the issue “only 48 hours ago” by local officials, and that it was part of the government’s crackdown on non-profits.
“It’s a crisis,” the person said, adding it may affect other AmCham organisations in China but that the government did not want to impact big manufacturing names under the umbrella of other AmChams.
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Carol Hunt, co-founder of Chengdu-based Wild West Brewing craft beer company, a member of AmCham Southwest, said that the chamber’s notification message on Monday prompted speculation among members as to the reason, but there had been no impact on her business so far since the organisation provided more of a support role and a platform to exchange information.
“This was pretty surprising and for them, it must also be a new and sudden development, since they were still holding events on August 27 and then this happened on August 30. So it seems quite unexpected,” she said.
“We just hope that relations between China and the US can improve … and that our exchanges will not be impacted.”
