Great article shared by the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama
By Ariel Tung (China Daily)
When residents of Monroeville, Alabama, heard that about 300 Chinese people were coming to their city, they lined the street with welcome banners in English and Chinese, and donated homemade cookies and desserts to the symposium that hosted the visitors.
About 40 Chinese companies flew in from China and across the United States to attend a two-day symposium beginning on March 15 to learn about investment opportunities in Alabama. This visit was the first – for most of these 300 business executives – to a state whose economic growth centers around its automotive manufacturing industry.
Alabama is the headquarters for Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, Mercedes-Benz US International and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama.
Besides having a competitive advantage in aerospace products and car components, the state’s industrial outputs include iron and steel products; paper, lumber and wood products; mining (mostly coal); plastic products and apparel.
On the first day of the symposium, The Monroe Journal, a newspaper in Monroeville, printed two double spread editorials in Chinese about the conference, never mind that most of the 7,000 residents can’t read Chinese.
The two-day conference was sponsored by Alabama China Partnership (ACP) and supported by the Alabama state government and China’s 21st Century Media.
The aim of this symposium was to help Chinese executives understand the American tax system and labor laws, how to finance a project and how to choose a site in the United States.
The governor of Alabama may have signed a bill specifically to attract Chinese investors, but it is the local people that are winning them over.
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