China Focus: Foreign businesses deepen roots in Chinese market through int'l trade fair
HARBIN, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Crowds gathered at the Hokkaido booth during the 34th Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair, drawn by live demonstrations of handcrafted rice balls and an array of regional delicacies from the northern Japanese prefecture.
"This year, 14 Hokkaido-based enterprises are showcasing 36 specialty products, with 12 companies and 34 products making their debut at the fair," said Takayuki Kano, Vice Governor of Hokkaido, expressing hopes that the event would help Hokkaido businesses secure local distributors and expand their footprint across China.
Held in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, this year's fair, which concluded on Wednesday, attracted over 1,500 enterprises from 38 countries and regions, including the United States, Japan and Switzerland, alongside participants from 23 Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.
During the fair, foreign officials and corporate representatives highlighted Heilongjiang's growing appeal as an investment destination and pledged to deepen their engagement with the Chinese market.
Jonathan Pauwels, director of product development and branding for agricultural equipment manufacturer Case IH's Asia-Pacific division, spoke about his company's more-than-two-decade journey in the region.
"We established our first factory in Harbin as early as 1999 and set up an agricultural machinery product development and research center in 2013. Over the past decade, we have continuously invested approximately 1 billion yuan (about 139 million U.S. dollars) in Heilongjiang to promote smart manufacturing. Now, many of our new agricultural machinery products have been introduced to the entire Chinese market," he said.
With 40 global production facilities and 49 R&D centers, Case IH plans to expand its investments in Heilongjiang over the next five years by localizing components, developing advanced combine harvesters, and expanding exports from its Harbin base, according to Pauwels.
Cao Jingheng, senior vice president of Nestle Greater China, attributed the renewed confidence of foreign companies to Heilongjiang's "revitalization through opening up" strategy. The province's fertile black soil, premium dairy pastures, and business-friendly policies prompted Nestle to establish its first Chinese mainland factory in Harbin's Shuangcheng district in 1987. To date, the Swiss conglomerate has invested 3 billion yuan in the province, supporting 33,000 dairy households and creating 10,000 jobs.
"China is now Nestle's second-largest global market. We look forward to further strengthening our cooperation with Heilongjiang by introducing Swiss technologies and managerial experience, while bringing more premium local products to international markets," Cao said.
The fair also attracted new entrants like Canadian athletic apparel brand Lululemon. Since opening its first store in Heilongjiang in 2022, sales have surged, according to Kang Tai, the company's general manager of government affairs.
"We are confident about our development in Heilongjiang and plan to expand our presence and collaborate with the province to promote winter sports development," Kang said.
Ren Hongbin, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, emphasized China's enduring appeal to global investors, adding that the fair and the concurrent events serve as a vital platform for international businesses to explore opportunities in Heilongjiang and beyond.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
28 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
USA Surfing gets new financial backing in a bid to be recertified for its hometown Olympics
LOS ANGELES (AP) — USA Surfing says it has secured a multimillion-dollar endowment as part of its push to be recertified as the nascent Olympic sport's national governing body after losing its status four years ago over financial issues. USA Surfing executive director Becky Fleischauer told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the investment is a major step toward the organization's goal to return to the Olympic movement. 'We have a new board, new leadership, and we've been delivering more value to our surfers than has ever been provided in the past,' Fleischauer said. 'There's a lot of energy. This investment is a declaration of confidence in the future of surfing from those who know it best.' USA Surfing has struck multiyear deals for financial backing from Kamaka Responsible Development, which builds housing communities, and with Orange County-based surf company Resin Services. Kamaka also plans to develop a wave pool that can be used for year-round training for USA Surfing athletes. Fleischauer spoke from the USA Surfing Championship at Lower Trestles, the iconic surf break near San Clemente, California, that will also host the Los Angeles Olympics surfing competition in 2028. USA Surfing, which is based in San Clemente, has crowned its under-18 national champions at Trestles for decades. 'Trestles is our backyard,' Fleischauer said. 'It's where our surfers train. It's where our coaches coach. It's really a global hub for surfing, and we reside right here, so that puts us in a really strong position to know our surfers, know our break, and to be able to lift up the entire community by having the Olympics here.' Surfing made its Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games in 2021, but USA Surfing had already run into trouble with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee by then over numerous concerns about the organization's financial management. USA Surfing voluntarily decertified as the sport's national governing body in December 2021, although it remained the American representative to the International Surfing Association. USA Surfing is reapplying to be the NGB again, but the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Federation has also applied to manage the Olympic surf team. The well-funded winter sports organization is run by Sophie Goldschmidt, the former chief executive of the World Surf League. One governing body managing multiple sports is an accepted practice in some countries, but hasn't been the norm in the U.S. Olympic movement since the Amateur Sports Act in 1978. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. The USOPC is evaluating both groups' filings and is expected to resolve the situation within the next few months. While Ski & Snowboard has ample Olympics experience, USA Surfing has the backing of the ISA and even the World Surf League itself, according to its filing with the USOPC. U.S. Olympic gold medalists Caroline Marks and Carissa Moore were among several top surfers who submitted letters of support for USA Surfing. USA Surfing has kept operating without funding from the USOPC since its decertification, still staging competitions and aiding American surfers in their preparation for international events. The body has since made large changes to its leadership, appointing Fleischauer and adding several new members to its board of directors in January 2024. __ AP Olympics:
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Federal judge orders Labor Department to keep Job Corps running during lawsuit
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday granted a preliminary injunction to stop the U.S. Department of Labor from shutting down Job Corps, a residential program for low-income youth, until a lawsuit against the move is resolved. U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter made his decision after a hearing in Manhattan. It bolsters a temporary restraining order Carter issued earlier this month, when he directed the Department of Labor to cease removing Job Corps students from housing, terminating jobs or otherwise suspending the nationwide program without congressional approval. Founded in 1964, Job Corps aims to help teenagers and young adults who struggled to finish traditional high school and find jobs. The program provides tuition-free housing at residential centers, training, meals and health care. 'Once Congress has passed legislation stating that a program like the Job Corps must exist, and set aside funding for that program, the DOL is not free to do as it pleases; it is required to enforce the law as intended by Congress,' Carter wrote in the ruling. The Labor Department said in late May that it would pause operations at all contractor-operated Job Corps centers by the end of June. It said the publicly funded program yielded poor results for its participants at a high cost to taxpayers, citing low student graduation rates and growing budget deficits. As the centers prepared to close, many students were left floundering. Some moved out of the centers and into shelters that house homeless people. 'Many of these young people live in uncertainty, so it takes time to get housing and restore a lot of those supports you need when you've been away from your community for so long,' said Edward DeJesus, CEO of Social Capital Builders, a Maryland-based educational consultancy which provides training on relationship-building at several Job Corps sites. 'So the abrupt closure of these sites is really harmful for the welfare of young adults who are trying to make a change in their lives.' The National Job Corps Association, a nonprofit trade organization comprised of business, labor, volunteer and academic organizations, sued to block the suspension of services, alleging it would displace tens of thousands of vulnerable young people and force mass layoffs. The attorneys general of 20 U.S. states filed an amicus brief supporting the group's motion for a preliminary injunction in the case. Monet Campbell learned about the Job Corps' center in New Haven, Connecticut, while living in a homeless shelter a year ago. The 21-year-old has since earned her certified nursing assistant license and phlebotomy and electrocardiogram certifications through Job Corps, and works at a local nursing home. 'I always got told all my life, 'I can't do this, I can't do that.' But Job Corps really opened my eyes to, 'I can do this,'' said Campbell, who plans to start studing nursing at Central Connecticut State University in August. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. The program has been life-changing in other ways, she said. Along with shelter and job training, Campbell received food, mental health counseling, medical treatment and clothing to wear to job interviews. 'I hadn't been to the doctor's in a while,' she said. 'I was able to do that, going to checkups for my teeth, dental, all that. So they really just helped me with that.' Campbell said she and other Job Corps participants in New Haven feel like they're in limbo, given the program's possible closure. They recently had to move out for a week when the federal cuts were initially imposed, and Campbell stayed with a friend. ____ Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut contributed to this report.
Toronto Star
2 hours ago
- Toronto Star
US blocks money transfers by 3 Mexico-based financial institutions accused of aiding cartels
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.S. Treasury Department slapped sanctions Wednesday on three Mexico-based financial institutions it said were used to launder millions of dollars for cartels, in a move officials say would block certain money transfers between the sanctioned banks and U.S. banks. The orders issued on the banks CIBanco and Intercam Banco, as well as brokerage Vector Casa de Bolsa, are part of an ongoing push by U.S. and Mexican authorities under pressure by U.S. President Donald Trump to crack down on Mexican cartels that traffic fentanyl.
