□ Article, Pictures/Journalist Xiong Yi Tr. by Yu Hao

Consul-General of the United States Consulate General in Chengdu Lin Jiewei:Hope More U.S. Businesses Seize Opportunities to Develop in Chongqing

□ Article, Pictures/Journalist Xiong Yi Tr. by Yu Hao

“An increasing number of American businesses develop an interest in investing in China. Shifting their targets from eastern areas to western inland areas of China, American businesses intend to set inland market as one of their key areas for investment,” Lin Jiewei, newly appointed Consul-General of the United States Consulate General in Chengdu told the reporter in an interview on Oct. 25. “We hope more American businesses would seize the opportunity to develop in Chongqing.”

It is the fi rst time that Lin Jiewei has visited Chongqing.Arriving in Chongqing on the afternoon of Oct. 24,he met with Wu Kangming first, Director of Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Chongqing Municipal People’s Government. Wu claimed in the meeting that the past few years has witnessed deeper cooperation and exchanges as well as fruitful outcomes in various fields between Chongqing and America. Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Of fi ce of Chongqing Municipal People’s Government has established close work relationship with all former consul-generals. They hoped to strengthen friendly relationship with Mr. Lin and advance the cooperation between Chongqing and America in various fields,especially in terms of automobile, technology, sistercity and education. Mr. Lin praised Chongqing as a beautiful and fashionable city, which left him a deep impression. And he hoped to maintain and further promote the longstanding good partnership between Chongqing and America.

“Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Chongqing Municipal People’s Government has been playing a vital role in our work. With their assistance,we bear the situation of all trades and enterprises in mind and act as a go-between for enterprises of Chongqing and America,” Lin Jiewei told the reporter.He said that a two-day trip to Chongqing is wellorganized. And he also visited Chongqing Sitwell Museum, Flying Tigers Exhibition Hall and Southwest University, as well as held negotiations with people from Chongqing industrial, commercial and business circles.

Chongqing Plays an Important Role in the World

“Having visited Chongqing Sitwell Museum and Flying Tigers Exhibition Hall, I was impressed by those precious photos,” Lin Jiewei said in fl uent Chinese. “The U.S. has started to cooperate with Chongqing since the Second World War(1939-1945). It makes sense that we, nowadays, see extensive cooperation between Chongqing and America.”

Mr. Lin made a specific mention of “The Path to Harmony—The History of Sino-US Diplomatic Relationship (1784-1979)”Picture Exhibition which was jointly held by the United States Consulate General in Chengdu and Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum. It would be free for the public for a month. The exhibition was divided into six parts including Initial Contact, Of fi cial Communication, Knowledge Sharing, Cultural Perception, Military Cooperation and Resuming Diplomatic Relations, which presented various historical moments of Sino-US relations. Businessmen,immigrants, entrepreneurs, diplomatists, explorers and students in over 120 historic photos mirrored mutual respect and friendly exchanges between two different cultures and profound friendship of over 200 years among Chinese and American peoples.

Mr. Lin contended that American enterprises has invested in China few years ago, but most focused on East China. With China’s economic restructuring and the implementation of new development strategies, Chinese inland areas has become a new investment focus for American enterprises. They hope to establish new companies and offices in Southwest China. Domains like automobile, electronic engineering, medical treatment and fi nance are all their investment priorities.

Enterprises including Ford, Hewlett Packard (HP) and Qualcomm have successively invested in Chongqing over the past few years.HP has established two bases for domestic sale and export of global computer production, a software center, global testing service center as well as printing and vision facilities manufacturing base, thus developing Chongqing’s information industry into a key drive for economic growth. As Ford has cooperated with Chang’an Automobile Group for over a decade, Chongqing has become the world’s second largest manufacturing base of Ford following Detroit.

“As President Xi Jinping mentioned in the report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, ‘China will adhere to the policy of opening-up and will not seclude from the outside world anymore’,” Mr. Lin said. And he hoped American enterprises could participate in the international cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative to deliver a win-win outcome.

An International Chongqing Embrace a Bright Prospect

“Chongqing plays a vital role in the world. I found Chongqing a standing-up city, with high-rise buildings, clean streets and brilliant night scenes on this trip to Chongqing. Besides, citizens here all dress in style, having positive attitude.” Mr. Lin said. He who has once worked and lived in Hong Kong and Shanghai for several years considered Chongqing as an international and inclusive city.A direct flight between Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport and New York John F. Kennedy International Airport was put into operation on Oct. 20, which represented the first airline between West China and New York and the second direct airline to North America following the Chongqing-Los Angeles route launched on Mar. 21. The event is set to help Chongqing open wider to the outside world and develop itself into an international aviation hub.

With the closer exchanges between Chongqing and America,more American enterprises were attracted to invest in central and western areas in China. “We come to investigate investment and living environments for American enterprises and see if the supporting conditions including food, clothing, housing,transportation, medical service and international school meet their requirements.” Mr. Lin said. One of his aims to Chongqing was to learn whether the development and supporting conditions here meet investment criteria of American enterprises.

Mr. Lin argued that Chongqing has offered increasing preferential policies to overseas-funded enterprises. Meanwhile, well-suited living facilities also represent a key factor to attract American investment. Compared with East China, China’s inland areas still need to be improved in those respects. American enterprises,however, can assist Chongqing in such service industries as medical treatment and education, which can also become key cooperation fi elds.

“Many Americans still see China as it was three decades ago,”Mr. Lin told the reporter. He hoped to encourage people-to-people exchange, especially among young students. “Because the young are the future of both countries,” Mr. Lin said. And he met with 16 volunteers of American Peace Corps, who taught English in pairs in a Chongqing’s university. As lovers for Chinese culture, they could learn Chinese language and Chinese culture during their work and life in Chongqing.

According to 2017 Open Doors Report released by Institute of International Education in November, there were over 350,000 Chinese students studying in American higher education institutions in 2016/2017 academic year, accounting for 32.5% of international students in America. Mr. Lin showed that most Chinese overseas students came from East China, while the past few years saw an increase number of students in inland areas seeking for overseas study. He would recommend superior educational resources for students from West China by strengthening the promotion of American education in his tenure.