California's valley strives to expand business collaborations

Business leaders in Southern California's San Gabriel Valley, a key region within Los Angeles county, are strengthening efforts to expand economic engagement with Chinese companies, noting that the area's strong Chinese-American community and open business environment give it a unique advantage in deepening China-US collaboration.

The San Gabriel Valley is a significant hub for Chinese Americans, with approximately 19 percent of its residents — totaling over 300,000 people — identifying as being of Chinese descent.

"The San Gabriel Valley encompasses 31 cities with nearly 2 million residents and has one of the largest Chinese-American populations in the United States," said Luis Portillo, president and CEO of the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership.

Portillo said eight of the 10 US cities with the highest proportion of Chinese-American residents are located in the valley, which fosters deep cultural and business linkages that help Chinese companies establish in the US market.

The San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership highlights foreign direct investment as a growing pillar of the local economy.

The partnership identifies trade, advanced manufacturing, technology and finance as sectors that particularly benefit from closer ties with China. Portillo noted that local governments are strongly supportive of Chinese investment.

"Cities across the valley welcome Chinese companies to come here, invest here, do business here and contribute to our local communities," he said. "We want them to succeed and grow, because their success creates jobs and strengthens our economy."

This community creates a supportive ecosystem of consumers, suppliers and professionals that offers incoming firms a ready-made foundation for growth.

One successful collaboration comes from Allawos & Company, a California-based consulting firm that helped Chinese company Longxi Bearing open its engineering and sales office in the state.

"I started working with Chinese partners in 2015. When the tariffs were introduced in 2017 and 2018, it became more complicated, but we worked through the policies and successfully established the company's presence in the US market," said Michael Allawos, president of Allawos & Company.

Allawos noted that business fundamentals between China and the US remain resilient despite political headwinds. He said that both economies have much to gain from continued cooperation.

"The markets need to be balanced, because there are things China needs and things we need. We have to find ways to work together," he said.

The San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership has hosted business forums and roundtables to connect US and Chinese enterprises in sectors such as advanced manufacturing, logistics, clean energy and professional services.

"We want Chinese companies that come here to succeed because their success benefits both sides," said Portillo. "Our role is to connect partners, reduce barriers and create opportunities that support long-term growth."

California, the nation's largest state economy, remains a key trade partner of China, with Los Angeles serving as a central driver of that relationship. Business leaders view the San Gabriel Valley as a model of bottom-up economic cooperation, where local governments and entrepreneurs prioritize practical collaboration even as national politics fluctuate.

"We want to continue to build those relationships," Portillo said, adding that the partnership plans to send a delegation to China to explore new opportunities as more Chinese companies seek to expand into the US market.