US state focuses on business, not politics

Regardless of what is going on in Washington, business communities across North Carolina want to continue to grow their business relations with China.

That’s the sentiment found by a delegation from the Chinese embassy in Washington and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, or CCPIT, during a three-day visit to the state this week.

Both Carolinas’ ties with China have been growing rapidly in recent years. The number of Chinese companies has grown from only a handful 10 years ago to more than 40 today. For both Carolinas, exports to China have increased 16-fold since 2000 and China is now their number one trade partner.

Since 2013, Chinese investment in North Carolina has totaled $1.2 billion, creating more than 3,000 jobs.

Angel Liu, executive director of global investment at the North Carolina Department of Commerce, said the state is balanced among its various sectors.

“One Chinese company started in the furniture business and has now also entered into the smart home business with the Big Data and AI technologies available here.

“There are a lot of positives in the relationship to keep us going and overcome the road bumps we are facing right now,” Liu said.

Tian Deyou, ministercounselor with the Chinese embassy in Washington, said North Carolina is a good place for Chinese companies to invest and China now has more to offer to grow the ties.

“In the past 40 years, we reshaped our planned economy into a market economy. In 2001 China became a member of WTO which engaged China with the international business community. We learned three words from WTO: Justice, fairness, transparency,” Tian said.

Big demand in China

The result was rapid economic growth in China. Now there are 400 million people in China’s middle class with tremendous purchasing power and big demand for healthcare, education and international tourism. It’s time US companies take advantage of that, Tian said.

“Unfortunately Washington is trying to do just the opposite,” Tian said.

Susan Fleetwood, executive director of economic development at the North Carolina Department of Commerce, said the state is focused on fostering strong country-state relations.

“Several countries look to establish strong countrystate relationships to build ties. We are open to that and look for opportunities there. We have seen several groups interested in senior living and medical devices from China,” she said.

Contact the writers at mayzhou@chinadailyusa.com.