The Bay Area Council Economic Institute is the leading think tank on economic and policy issues in the San Francisco/Silicon Valley Bay Area. A forum for engagement and a respected source of fact-based economic analysis, the Institute is a trusted partner and adviser to both business leaders and government officials. Through its economic and policy research and partnerships, it addresses issues impacting the competitiveness, economic development and quality of life of the region and the state, including infrastructure, human capital, globalization, science and technology, and health policy. The Institute is guided by a Board of Trustees drawn from leaders in the corporate, university, government and non-profit sectors.
In the 2000s, from China’s entry into the WTO in 2001 to 2016, San Francisco Bay Area companies were at the heart of an expanding technological web linking the United States with China through trade but particularly through investment. China at that time was the core of a global model of offshore production targeting worldwide markets.