Bay Area woos Chinese investors

CEOs, private investors, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists from China descended on the San Francisco Bay Area on Tuesday to network, share and learn about the many financial opportunities in California.

They attended the 2014 Cross Pacific Investment and Trade Summit hosted by the US-China Business and Culture Association and the Bay Area Council at a Nixon Peabody conference room in San Francisco.

The summit enabled forthright discussion between Chinese business leaders who have serious interest in investing in California and US business and financial experts on media, health care and housing, said Del Christensen, chief of global business development of the Bay Area Council.

Xia Xiang (at the podium), economic and commercial counselor of the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco, delivers a speech on trade and investment between China and California during the 2014 Cross Pacific Investment & Trade Summit at Nixon Peabody Conference Room in San Francisco on Tuesday. Lian Zi / China Daily

"We are hoping that there will be some one-on-one business transactions and relationships coming out of this event," Christensen said.

"Bilateral trade volume expanded to $562.3 billion in 2013," said Xia Xiang, economic and commercial counselor of the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco. "So far, seven provinces in China, including Shanghai, Chongqing, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Neimeng, Hebei and Shandong, have built state relationships with California since President Xi Jinping's visit to southern California last year."

The trade between China and California is mainly in nine industries, including medical devices, new energy, and tourism, Xia added.

Ongoing California government actions to facilitate investment in both directions continue to promote bilateral trade, he explained.

Brian Peck, deputy director of the California Governor's office, said: "The economy is recovering in California and our budget is back to black. So we think it is the right time for Chinese business groups to expand their business in California, just as California is expanding its investment in China."

"California has several new tax deduction policies to welcome Chinese investors. Our state policy is pretty open to foreign investors," Peck said, adding that Chinese investors who purchase equipment or create jobs for US citizens can enjoy tax deductions of up to $150 million a year.

The substantial development of investment and trade between the US and China in the last decades has promoted great economic growth for both countries, and China has already become California's third-largest trading partner, Peck said.

Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) is growing and concentrated in California, said Tracey Grose, vice-president of the Bay Area Council.

In 2013, California exports to the Chinese mainland totaled $16.4 billion, according to a report conducted by US Department of Commerce.

In 2014, a $1.5 billion Brooklyn Basin investment deal between Beijing-based Zarsion Holding Group and California-based Signature Development Group broke ground on a project that will create 10,000 jobs and build 3,100 units.

The Bay Area Council has identified expanding trade between China and California as one of its top priorities, with special emphasis on creating more domestic jobs.

In 2013, thanks to a strategic public and private partnership that has received strong support from both California Governor Jerry Brown and the California State Legislature, a California-China Office of Trade and Investment was opened under the auspices of the Bay Area Council.

zilian@chinadailyusa.com