A workshop focused on helping Chinese investors improve their businesses' profitability was hosted by Houston on Friday following positive progress during the China-U.S. trade talks. The workshop was attended by dozens of representatives from Chinese-invested firms within the Greater Houston area.
Themed The Hot Topics of 2019, the workshop was initiated days following trade deal negotiations between China and the U.S. that wrapped up on a positive note. According to Xinhua, attendees and facilitators discussed the impact of American tariffs on local businesses.
Some of the topics discussed during the seminar are biomedical innovation in Texas, data technology, chemical sectors, the energy industry, and the trade environment with the U.S. Speakers also touched on legal risk management and human resources studies.
Deputy District Director of the American Small Business Administration (SBA), Mark Winchester said that in the past, he has also attended other seminars centered on helping Chinese investors in Houston.
For Winchester, the workshop, co-organized by Nguyen & Chen LLP, Prodensa Group, and Ernst & Young LLP, exposes SBA as a platform that Chinese-invested firms could approach and partner with for consultation and other finance and business-related matters.
Ever since the trade dispute ensued between China and the United States, a number of firms reported that operations have been affected by the issue. On the other hand, Chinese investors are optimistic about the recent progress that resulted from the latest round of trade talks.
Meanwhile, a new report suggested that China and the U.S. are nearing the close of a deal that could finally end most or all U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.
During last week's trade talks, Beijing is said to have pledged to purchase a huge amount of U.S. products. Two people with knowledge of the discussions said the Chinese government also vowed to improve intellectual-property policies, Bloomberg reported.
Another insider familiar with the trade talks said the U.S. delegation asked Beijing to refrain from approaching the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the future for tariffs that could be imposed.
Another summit between Chinese President Donald Trump and U.S. President Donald Trump is also expected to take place soon while a final trade deal is expected to come around sometime before the end of March.
For its part in the recently wrapped up trade meetings, China reportedly offered to lower tariffs on a couple of American industries including chemical, auto, and farm sectors. The Asian country is also said to have pledged to lift foreign-ownership limitations on vehicle businesses.
The developments have resulted in Chinese and U.S. stocks making a significant rebound after suffering lows over the past few months. The jump is also attributed to Trump's decision of delaying tariff increases to 25 percent that should have been imposed on March 1.
