American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai

The AmCham Shanghai Board of Governors[5] is responsible for the policymaking of the organization and the general direction of the Chamber's activities. The Board also has a fiduciary responsibility. The 11 Governors are elected by voting members for staggered, two-year terms. Each fall approximately one half of the Board stands for election at the Annual General Meeting. The Board has four officers: a Chair, two Vice Chairs and a Treasurer. Two Honorary Governors are also appointed yearly from the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai.

The Chamber’s current President is Ker Gibbs.[6] He assumed his position in January 2019.

AmCham’s CVP facilitates U.S. visas for participating Corporate Member companies’ direct employees and their family members. In cooperation with the U.S. Consulate General Shanghai, the program provides simplified document review, expedited visa appointment interviews, access to all U.S. non-immigration visa types, and an excellent approval rate for applicants.

The GPS Program is dedicated to helping members navigate the impact of government policy on business. GPS provides members with the latest policy developments and valuable insight into how these translate into commercial opportunities and challenges for companies.

AmCham’s CSR [13] activities provide member companies with the latest information on corporate social responsibility trends and access to influential CSR organizations. AmCham Shanghai’s CSR program includes the Business Council for Sustainability, CSR Conference and Awards and the annual Charity Gala. Since 2002, AmCham Shanghai’s CSR initiatives have led to nearly 12 million RMB in donations to local charities.

The CEO Advisory Series is offered to select CEOs of leading enterprises in China. The program includes quarterly programming, a monthly newsletter, and talk write-ups. CEO members can choose to attend up to 20 curated programs per year.

The TIC is a two-way hub of resources and referrals for U.S. companies interested in the China market and a gateway to the United States for Chinese companies. The TIC platform is intended for companies of all sizes.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai[15] was founded on June 9, 1915, at Shanghai’s Palace Hotel. Forty-five American businessmen gathered to establish “The American Chamber of Commerce of China” and appointed a provisional committee of ten individuals to draft a constitution and bylaws. J.H. McMichael was named chairman of the new chamber’s provisional committee, together with nine other members, including representatives from American Steel, Standard Oil, British American Tobacco, R.H. Macy & Co., Singer Sewing and Dollar Shipping.

The Chamber elected its first officers and established bylaws on August 18, 1915. J.H. McMichael was the Chamber’s first president and J.W. Gallagher of United States Steel was elected vice president. The Chamber was the third American Chamber of Commerce established outside the United States.

By March 1916 the organization had 32 corporate members, 26 individual members and a bank balance of $2,057.25 USD. By 1919, Chamber membership had grown to 200 members.

Harold Dollar (Dollar Shipping) and V.G. Lyman (Standard Oil) led the Chamber from 1922-25 as President and Vice President. The Chamber moved into permanent offices in the Dollar Building on Canton Road and hired a full-time director.

The Shanghai Chamber changed its name on October 19, 1922 to the “American Chamber of Commerce (Shanghai)” and established an umbrella organization based in Shanghai to coordinate the work of all China AmChams called the “Associated American Chambers of Commerce in China.”

During the period between Japan’s 1937 military actions in China and the U.S. declaration of war on Japan in December 1941, the Chamber continued to operate. One new advocacy issue for the Chamber was to counter trade restrictions imposed by Japan against American trade with China and “Japan’s continued aggression against American rights and interests in China.” As of 1940, the Chamber had a permanent staff of five and 18 special committees. It continued to publish a periodic newsletter called “The Fishbowl,” which reported on comings and goings within the business community. The Chamber offices in the American Club were seized by the Japanese army on December 10, 1941 and all Chamber activities came to a halt.

The first post-war gathering of the Chamber took place on September 10, 1945 at the Shanghai YMCA. The Chamber’s constitution was reissued both in 1946 and 1948, in part to comply with registration requirements from the Nationalist government. The language of the mission statement was different from that used in 1915, but the overall objectives were the same: promote bilateral trade, support U.S. companies in China, collect and disseminate useful commercial information, and promote American interests in China. AmCham Shanghai temporarily ended its operations by the end of 1950, as the American business presence in Shanghai had ceased to exist.

The revival of the Chamber occurred at a time when China’s central government was reassessing the role that Shanghai should play in supporting China’s economic reform and growth. John McCoy and George Hsu were elected as the first two co-presidents and when Hsu left Shanghai in 1988, Givant was nominated into the role of co-president with John McCoy. The inaugural meeting of the revived organization took place at the Union Building on Yan’an Road in the fall of 1987. The Chamber held its first formal meeting in 1987 at the U.S. Consulate with 35 business community members in attendance.

By 1999, the Chamber had 1,820 members. By 2003, the Chamber had 2,010 members and established another record in 2006 with 3,100 members. Membership broke the 4,000 number during the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, but in recent years, membership size has stabilized in the range of 3,000 members from 1,500 companies. AmCham Shanghai is still one of the largest American chambers outside of the United States. In 2010, the organization took steps to normalize its legal status by creating a wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE) that allows the Chamber to accept online and electronic payments.