People-to-people exchange works for China, US businesses, too

More communication within business circles in China and the US will help deepen people-to-people exchange between the world's two largest economies. And industry insiders on both sides should keep the dialogue going - no matter how frustrating the task might be at times - because it can yield a golden harvest.

Wrapping up her visit to the US for the 6th China-US High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange (CPE) in Washington last week, Chinese Vice-Premier Liu Yandong reiterated several times the important role the CPE could play in terms of a stronger and healthier China-US relationship. Why? Because it provides a high-level annual forum for government and private-sector representatives to discuss cooperation and exchange in a broad, strategic manner.

Jeffrey Hoopes, chairman and CEO of Swinerton Incorporated, a San Francisco-based commercial construction company, said he is still learning how to collaborate with Chinese partners in order to establish mutual trust first before moving ahead with business.

"The way of doing business in the US is very different from that in China," Hoopes said, adding that Swinerton has a long list of trusted US partners with a decades-long track record of successful cooperative projects. Still, he has to pitch his company to potential partners in China to convince them "we are trustworthy".

Founded in 1888 and specializing in commercial office, retail, multi-family residential, hospitality, healthcare, education and entertainment buildings, one of Swinerton's major claims to fame is that it built the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, one of the few buildings to survive the Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906.

It also built Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco, Weyerhaeuser's "green" headquarters in Washington and high-rise office buildings such as the San Francisco Centre, Levi's Plaza and The Gap's worldwide headquarters.

"We have a presence nationwide with offices in Denver, Hawaii, Texas, New Mexico, Portland and Seattle," said Hoopes, adding that in recent years Swinerton has been in touch with Chinese developers and already broken ground with Chinese partners on several mixed-use high-rise projects in Los Angeles.

Hoopes said he has noticed that Chinese partners tend to pay more attention to pricing, among other things. "I would hope they can understand that a cheap price does not necessarily lead to good business," he said, emphasizing that Chinese developers need to acknowledge these industry differences and get advice from local professionals.

"I would recommend our Chinese friends hire professionals in the US for a smoother transaction," Hoopes said.

Late last year, Swinerton started work on the Oceanwide Plaza, a joint project with the China Oceanwide Holdings, a complex that includes a luxury hotel, high-end commercial area, premium condominiums and California's largest LED billboard.

"The construction is located in the heart of Los Angeles neighboring the LA Convention Center, Staples Center, Nokis Theater, the Grammy Museum and the LA Central Business District," said Hoopes, predicting the property will be warmly received by the market.

The complex will have 504 residential condominiums, a 183-room boutique hotel, underground and above-ground garages and two-floors of retail space, according to a news release from Oceanwide.

Swinerton will launch a mixed-use development of three towers along the bustling Figueroa Corridor in Los Angeles with the Shenzhen Hazens Real Estate Group.

The 2.6-acre property will house 650 residential units, 250 hotel rooms and 80,000 square feet of commercial space.

"It takes me some effort to get used to the style of Chinese partners." said Hoopes. "But this experience, I guess, manifests the significance of people-to-people exchange from the business perspective," he said.

Contact the writer at junechang@chinadailyusa.com.