Navigating Economic Lawfare: Multinational Firms in U.S.–China Competition

Join us for this timely and important lunch talk on how U.S.–China economic competition is reshaping the legal and business landscape for multinational firms. We are honored to welcome distinguished speakers with deep expertise in cross-border business and trade law: Mitch Presnick 柏力 and Matthew Bock, Esq. LCB, who will share practical insights on export controls, sanctions, and global supply chain. China Veteran | Founder of Super 8 Hotels China | Harvard Fairbank Center Mitchell A. Presnick is a founder, board advisor, and China veteran with more than three decades of experience operating at the intersection of business, capital markets, and geopolitics. He is the founder and former Chairman and CEO of Super 8 Hotels China, which he built into a nationwide chain of more than 1,100 hotels before exiting to private equity. A Visiting Fellow of Practice at Harvard’s Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies from 2023 to 2025, Presnick focuses on U.S.–China economic strategy, industrial policy, and global supply chains. His work examines how companies, investors, and policymakers navigate the evolving commercial relationship between the United States and China. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he advises boards, investors, and founders operating at the intersection of strategy, capital formation, and geopolitical risk. Matthew Bock Managing Partner, Bock Trade Law | Customs & International Trade | Export Controls & Sanctions Matthew Bock is the Managing Partner at Bock Trade Law, where his practice is dedicated exclusively to customs and international trade law, import/export controls, and economic sanctions regulatory compliance. His experience includes developing and implementing compliance reviews, audits, and programs; conducting export classification exercises; advising on free trade and preferential tariff agreements; making export jurisdiction and license determinations; assisting clients in pursuing sanctions list delistings; and conducting regulatory compliance due diligence in the context of mergers, acquisitions, and other corporate transactions. Matthew is a licensed customs broker and is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts, New York, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Court of International Trade. Prior to founding Bock Trade Law, he was associated with the Global Trade group at EY and in private practice with another leading customs and international trade law firm.