Leo Chan, executive director of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce based in Ohio, USA, disclosed that China's economic growth over the past decades has helped several companies in the Midwestern United States.
The success of China in alleviating poverty and its massive middle class has brought enormous opportunities for business cooperation, Chan said, whose Midwest organization boasts about 200 members who all have economic ties to China.
Chan said they are happy to see China's achievement over the past decades in poverty alleviation, education, and healthcare, and "we want more to be attained in 2020 in this regard."
He also said that they hope more Chinese firms "will go global and land in the U.S." to bring money, technology, and even manpower," adding that Chinese-Americans will play a more active role in expanding ties between the two countries.
The two sides' business partnership has also led to world peace, prosperity, and economic development, Chan pointed out.
Local-level cooperation, such as those between sister cities, should be put into full play, according to Chan, and his organization has been promoting such cultural, trade and investment ties.
At the third China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, he said, the Midwest USA Chinese Chamber of Commerce will have a 150 square-meter booth to promote U.S. companies.
The second CIIE, conducted in November 2019, concluded with preliminary deals worth 71.13 billion U.S. dollars for one-year acquisitions of goods and services, an increase of 23 percent from the first CIIE.
The next CIIE will be represented by a world-class corporation and a number of small and medium-sized companies that deal with manufacturing, food processing and others from the Midwest, Chan explained.
Chan also called on both countries to build a platform that could help funnel limited resources into key areas such as the welfare of people, infrastructure, and creative social governance.
Meanwhile, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been helping to improve international economic ties over the past 25 years, said Roberto Azevedo, WTO Director-General.
"Binding rules on global trade in goods and services have enabled significant growth in cross-border business activity," Azevedo said in a written statement to mark the WTO's 25th founding anniversary.
Azevedo recalled that the dollar value in world trade has almost quadrupled since 1995, while the actual volume of world trade has risen 2.7 times. Moreover, he noted that average tariffs have nearly halved, from 10.5 percent to 6.4 percent.
