On July 3rd, 2020, the "Online Seminar of Investment and Trade Promotion between Chongqing and U.S. Enterprises," organized by the Chongqing Municipal People's Government, was held successfully.

More than 80 AmCham member companies understood policy about Chongqing's latest business environment through the online live streaming platform. The Online Seminar attracted almost 150 representatives to attend, including Li Bo, Deputy Mayor of Chongqing, Wang Kuiwan, Deputy Secretary-General of Chongqing, Zhang Zhikui, Director of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce, Benjamin Wang, Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Southwest China, Alan Beebe, Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, and Harley Seyedin, Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in South China, Chongqing Municipal Taxation Bureau, Liangjiang New District, High-tech Zone, Chongqing Economic Development Zone and representatives of more than 80 member companies of the AmCham.

Online Seminar of Investment and Trade Promotion between Chongqing and U.S. Enterprises

At the meeting, Li Bo, Deputy Mayor of Chongqing, introduced Chongqing's economic situation of resuming work and production, and emphatically interpreted Chongqing's industrial, ecological, and institutional advantages. Strive to build a metropolis integrating intelligent manufacturing, smart city, international consumption center city, and green development under the national strategies of "One Belt One Road," "Yangtze River Economic Belt," and "Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle." Chongqing's total imports and exports to the United States account for one-fifth of the city's total trade volume, and the U.S. is the largest trading partner of Chongqing. More than 600 U.S. companies have invested in Chongqing, with a cumulative volume of US$2.7 billion; 59 Chongqing companies have invested in the U.S. with US$1.6 billion. Sacramento and Seattle are also the sister cities with Chongqing. This further shows that the earth is one family, and the trend of globalization is irreversible. Mr. Li welcomed more American companies to invest in Chongqing to share common development opportunities. Chongqing will effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of US-funded enterprises, provide targeted and quality services, and a sound business environment so as to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results by cooperation. 

The chairmen of American Chambers of Commerce and representatives of US-funded enterprises have expressed their optimism about the market and investment environment in Chongqing, showing more confidence in investing here.

Benjamin Wang, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Southwest China, expressed the hope that more U.S.-funded enterprises are able to have more opportunities to participate in investment investigation activities in Chongqing and to experience the enthusiasm of the people of Chongqing.

Alan Beebe, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, said that the American Chamber of Commerce in China conducted a questionnaire survey to understand the current situation of the development of US-funded companies during the epidemic. According to the survey, most of the interviewed enterprises have completely resumed normal business operations; one third said they would not change their investment plans in China although the epidemic and some enterprises even said they would expand their investment in China. He also extended the hope that the government can be more supportive of "tax relief" and "foreign executive entry."

Li Bo, deputy mayor of Chongqing government, gave a specific answer to this. He said that Chongqing could issue invitation letters to important foreign-funded partners, employees of foreign enterprises and technical personnel to facilitate them to apply for visas to China. Meanwhile, for important partners, technology personnel, etc., a green channel for nucleic acid detection is available for them to advance their quick resumption of work and production. Chongqing has also introduced 40 items to support the development of enterprises to help their resuming of work and production and overcome difficulties. 

More than 80 AmCham member companies understood policy about Chongqing's latest business environment through the online live streaming platform.

Harley Seyedin, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in South China, introduced the investigation report released by the American Chamber of Commerce in South China on the operation situation of American companies in South China and Southwest China. The report shows that more than 80% of the interviewed companies rated the business environment in South China and Southwest China as "very good." In the next three to five years, the total reinvestment of US-funded companies in the American Chamber of Commerce in South China will reach 18.8 billion U.S. dollars. 

The relevant person in charge of Starbucks, a representative of US-funded enterprises, said that as one of the first batch of Chongqing enterprises to resume work, the Chongqing government has given Starbucks great support and help in terms of anti-epidemic substances. Starbucks is very optimistic about Chongqing's market and investment environment. At present, 91 stores in Chongqing also have goods on an online platform. On July 3rd, the first Starbucks coffee pub in the Midwest of Starbucks officially landed in Raffles City, Chongqing.

US-funded enterprise TYLI China is a world-famous engineering consulting group. It is a world-leading enterprise in the field of bridges and transportation infrastructure, participating in the design of Chongqing's Caiyuanba Bridge, Chaotianmen Bridge, Egongyan Bridge, and many other famous bridges. The relevant person in charge of TYLI China said that he is very confident in the development of Chongqing. Next, TYLI China will invest 300 million RMB in Chongqing to build a national outsourcing service base and enterprise R&D buildingⅡ.

At the meeting, Liangjiang New District, High-tech Zone, and Chongqing Economic Development Zone made presentations, respectively. The participating enterprises and relevant municipal departments conducted real-time Q&A and in-depth exchanges on issues such as investment promotion policies. The meeting received a strong response, and the participating companies all expressed that they had established contacts, mastered the situation, and boosted confidence through the meeting.

Source: AmCham Southwest China