The United States Information Technology Office (USITO) in Beijing, China is an independent, not-for-profit, membership-based trade association, which was opened in 1995 to represent U.S. information technology industries in China, to monitor and express support for legislation conducive to U.S. export and investment opportunities, and to promote further opening of these markets. With the support of six IT industry parent associations and 50 member-companies, USITO promotes trade and cooperation between the information technology industries of the United States and China. USITO strives to make the Chinese IT market more accessible to U.S. companies by providing market development assistance and information on government policy, regulations, and trends in key IT markets. USITO serves as a locus for policy coordination and advocacy projects in addition to our daily market development efforts – locating potential joint venture partners and distributors, organizing industry roundtables and trade missions, and generally facilitating business opportunities. USITO also works to foster an improved intellectual property rights environment in China.