July 4th, 2026 is notable because the United States of America just celebrated the 250thAnniversary of its founding. The US Consulate in Hong Kong did its celebration in late June with a gala reception. This issue of the e-Magazine describes that in the cover story. Also in this cover story is a rare personal conversation with the US Consul General Julie Eadeh, telling us her wish to improve US-Hong Kong relations. AmCham HK will do its celebrating of this 250th anniversary on September 23 at a luncheon featuring Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JP Morgan.
Summertime is a slow time for many people, but not for AmCham HK. We had a successful Doorknock to Washington DC in late June and are getting ready for a Doorknock to Beijing in early September. In between, we are busy preparing our AmCham HK submission to the HKSAR Policy Address to be delivered by the Chief Executive this fall.
Let me comment a bit on each of the three above efforts. For the Doorknock to Washington DC, you can read more details in a summary in this issue. Members also heard details at a members-only debrief at our Hub. But I can tell you that the 12-person high level delegation led by our Chairman David Butts had a substantive, intense, and useful visit. We met with senior administration officials—from NSC, State, Teasury, Commerce, and USTR—and members and staff of Congress, as well as think tank scholars. The Acting Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China hosted a dinner for us, and we held a business seminar with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office. It was a full four days with very good access and conversation.
For the Doorknock to Beijing, AmCham HK traditionally gets good access to Chinese government officials and the US Embassy Beijing. We are planning to meet with officials from the HK and Macao Affairs Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, National Development and Reform Commission, China Securities Regulatory Commission, and think tank scholars. Both the visits to Washington and to Beijing are very important to gauge sentiment towards the all-important, and difficult, US-China relationship and to discuss how our member businesses view their situation in Hong Kong. These Doorknocks in both capitals are important for our members’ voices to be heard.
Speaking of Hong Kong, members are taking time this summer to work with AmCham committees and the secretariat to present recommendations for policy enhancements by the HKSAR Government which will help their business. Information has been collected and put together in a Submission which will be made in early August this year. Traditionally, the government takes our inputs seriously, and the HKSAR drafting team already spent some dedicated time with our committee leaders, and several of our suggestions are taken annually on board. You can read last year’s Submission to the 2025 Policy Address in our website at https://www.amcham.org.hk/sites/default/files/2025-08/AmCham%202025%20CE%20Policy%20Address–Final.pdf.
All three efforts above are the highlight of AmCham HK’s year-round advocacy on behalf of members. In addition, of course, the Chamber offers a steady diet of business programs to our members and sometimes non-members. The notable one coming up at the end of the summer is the Sustainability Conference on September 11.
Please have a good summer, and Happy Birthday USA!
Eden Woon
President
AmCham HK