AmCham South China's Chinese Delegation to Texas Buys US$7.15 Billion Worth of Goods from Soup to Nuts

Chinese Cross-Border E-Commerce Initiative to create tens of thousands of jobs in U.S.

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Aug 24, 2015, 02:15 ET

SAN ANTONIO, Aug. 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- A delegation of top level Chinese companies led by Harley Seyedin, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in South China (AmCham South China), recently completed a visit to San Antonio, Texas. The delegation was on a mission to pursue investment opportunities and to search for consumer goods to be exported to China. Many of the members of the delegation represented Cross-Border E-Commerce companies. The delegation met with Ivy Taylor, Mayor of San Antonio, and Judge Nelson Wolff, head of Bexar County which encompasses the City of San Antonio and 27 other cities in Texas. San Antonio is the seventh largest city in the United States.

Members of the delegation listen to presentations by U.S. companies at the Free Trade Alliance San Antonio international Facilities

Members of the delegation discuss their projects with Mayor of San Antonio Ivy R. Taylor

Over an intense and negotiation-filled seven days, the delegation inked MOUs valued at $7.15 billion U.S. dollars over ten years. This amount is expected to increase substantially as additional deals now under discussion progress. The marathon negotiation sessions which sometimes went into midnight hours involved deals for investments in projects in San Antonio and nearby cities in Texas, as well as, long term monthly deals for Texas made consumer goods and commodities to be sold through E-Commerce platforms in China.

The delegation was organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in South China with great support and direct involvement by the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service of the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou and their superb coordination with their San Antonio office and at the invitation of the Free Trade Alliance San Antonio. The parties involved had spent nearly one year in preparation of arrangements and business matchmaking ahead of the trip to ensure maximum productivity for both the U.S. and Chinese companies involved.

The deals include a US$55 million investment in Rebecca Creek distillery, a leading U.S. maker of Rebecca Creek brand spirits, to expand its existing operations in San Antonio and to export its products to China; a US$10 million investment by a leading Chinese health care company together with UIW University to jointly build own and operate eye care centers in San Antonio, Texas. This is the first eye care technology cooperation between a U.S. and a Chinese entity. UIW's Dean of Doctor of Ophthalmology School will visit the Chinese company in October of this year to finalize their cooperation details.

Also inked were MOUs to purchase Texas-grown nuts and other agricultural goods for export to China worth between US$50-US$100 million per month. An investment of $25 million in cold chain storage technology; cooperation on development of elderly care facilities and a school of nursing; and, a potential under discussion but not yet signed US$250 million investment in a zone development. One Chinese delegate retained a Washington law firm with a Houston office, McGuireWoods LLP to help it secure up to a billion U.S. dollars in oil and gas for export.

Jose E. Martinez, President and CEO of Free Trade Alliance San Antonio said, "The new Cross-Border E-Commerce initiative by the Chinese leadership has opened the door to thousands of new opportunities for American companies. We need to work hard to capitalize on this as it can help create tens of thousands of jobs here in Texas for hard working Americans while helping China's effort to build a consumer based economy." Mr. Martinez is a former head of U.S. Governments' Trade Development Agency (TDA) and Deputy Director of Presidential Personnel and Special Assistant to President George Bush Sr. at the White House.

About The American Chamber of Commerce in South China

The American Chamber of Commerce in South China (AmCham South China) is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to facilitating bilateral trade between the United States and the People's Republic of China. Certified in 1995 by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington D.C., AmCham South China represents more than 2,300 corporate and individual members, is governed by a fully-independent Board of Governors elected from its membership, and provides dynamic, on-the-ground support for American and International companies doing business in South China. In 2014, AmCham South China hosted nearly 10,000 business executives and government leaders from around the world at its briefings, seminars, committee meetings and social gatherings. The American Chamber of Commerce in South China is a fully-independent organization accredited by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C. All AmChams in China are independently governed and represent member companies in their respective regions.

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SOURCE AmCham South China