CIFIT Special: CIFIT 2009: "A superhighway of opportunity"

As China's economy continues to enjoy stability and growth amid a global economic climate that is not particularly stable or conducive to growth, the State Council's recently released "several opinions on supporting the development of the west Taiwan Straits economic zone" is, in my view, an invitation to investors not only from Taiwan but also from around the world to come in from the economic cold and enjoy the relative warmth of the mainland economy.

Of course, this is not only attractive for companies entering China for the first time, but also for those already operating on the mainland. In light of the announcement, the American Chamber of Commerce in South China recently led a delegation of 74 companies to Fujian, only 50 days after the State Council's announcement on May 4, to investigate the zone's opportunities.

This delegation, which I led and which was joined by US Consul General Robert Goldberg, was among the first (if not the very first) to travel to Fujian to learn about the zone, and, after only three days, we signed deals worth 3.8 billion yuan - including an agreement to invest a substantial amount in green energy projects between my own company and the Fujian CCPIT.