Join the Trade Alliance in re-discovering Northeast China for business and trade!
2008 Business & Trade Mission to Northeast China
Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian and Qingdao
DATES: September 5-17, 2008
Co-organized by the Trade Development Alliance and the Washington State China Relations Council
New: Trip Report
Supplemental Online Briefing Book!
Purpose of Mission: The purpose of this mission is to promote the Greater Seattle region as a world-class business center, its ports, and education resources. Business representatives, as well as education, port, and government officials from the Greater Seattle region will have the opportunity to establish relationships and facilitate closer commercial ties with this dynamic economy.
More specific objectives of the mission include:
§ To enhance knowledge of the current economic conditions and businesses opportunities in Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian and Qingdao;
§ To enable business delegates to meet specific business objectives, ranging from exposure to market opportunities to making individual contacts;
§ To develop & expand relationships between the business, government and multiplier organizations in our region, and those in Northeast China.
Why the Bohai Region?
A business mission to Northeast China would provide a timely look at this region’s growing economies.
Beijing is the capital city, recognised as the political, educational, and cultural center of the People’s Republic of China. Beijing is also home to 475 research centers, and more than 60 institutions of higher learning, including Peking University and Qinghua University. Beijing is a city of more than 12.5 million inhabitants, a municipal area occupying 16,808 square kilometers. The city will host the 2008 Summer Olympics Leading industries in Beijing include tourism, electronics, chemicals, automobile, machinery, metallurgy, textiles, garments, and household appliances.
Tianjin, together with Shanghai, Beijing and Chongqing, is classified as a separate municipality with the same status and responsibilities as a province. This special status enables the Tianjin municipal government to approve independent foreign investment projects, making it an attractive location for foreign investment in China. This makes Tianjin one of the ideal gateways for exporters serving the North China market. Tianjin is the United States’ fifth largest trading partner in China, and ranked by the World Bank as having one of the one of the top-twenty best investment climates for foreign firms in China. The United States is Tianjin’s third largest trading partner— 10% the city’s imports originate in the U.S. Tianjin also has a sister port relationship with the Port of Tacoma. Leading industries in Tianjin include automobiles, electronics, petrochemical products, metallurgy, medicine and energy.
Dalian is the principle marine gateway of Northeast China. It is home to the largest deep water port in Manchuria. Dalian handles roughly 70% of the region’s cargo and 90% of the region’s container transportation. The city has trade links with over eighty countries, including a sister port relationship with the Port of Seattle. In addition to being a crucial port city, Dalian is one of China’s most heavily developed industrial areas. In recent years, Dalian has made great strides to move itself up the high-tech manufacturing value chain. The city is set to host Intel’s most advanced wafer fabrication facility in Asia. With a total investment from Intel of around US$4 billion, the facility has been earmarked to become the largest foreign high-tech investment in all of China. Leading industries in Dalian include manufacturing, refining and shipbuilding as well as the production of chemicals, electronics and software.
Qingdao is well known for its historic and scenic tourist attractions, as well as being one of the best places in China to live and do business. The World Bank honored Qingdao as one of China’s six “Golden cities” (a measure of investment climate, harmoniousness, governance and other measures). In recent years, the city has attracted billions in foreign direct investment and engages in trade with virtually every country on the planet, including our region. The Port of Seattle has had a sister port relationship with the Port of Qingdao since 1995. Among the city’s 17,854 foreign investment projects, 76 Fortune 500 companies have established projects in Qingdao. Leading industries in Qingdao include automobiles, consumer electronics, building materials, shipbuilding, cargo handling, petrochemicals, steel, alcohol, textiles & apparel, food processing equipment and chemical fertilizer.
For more information, please contact:
“A” Boungjaktha, Trade Development Alliance
at 206-389-7289 and [email protected]
