Bay Area Council Advances Subnational U.S.–China Cooperation at “Port of Opportunity” Exchange

The Bay Area Council convened more than 100 business and civic leaders on December 5 at the “Port of Opportunity: U.S.–China Business Exchange Breakfast,” reinforcing the Bay Area’s role as a practical gateway for trade, innovation, and climate-forward growth across the Pacific.

In welcoming remarks, John Grubb, Interim President and CEO of the Bay Area Council, emphasized the region’s commitment to open, pragmatic international engagement and the importance of sustained subnational economic ties in supporting long-term competitiveness.

The program brought together senior leaders including Zhang Jianmin, Chinese Consul General in San Francisco; Barbara Lee, Mayor of Oakland; Ren Hongbin, President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT); and Matt Davis and Kristi McKenney of the Port of Oakland. Chairman Ren emphasized how the vitality of U.S.–China relations is driven by people-to-people exchange and subnational cooperation, calling on the business community to translate shared consensus into concrete outcomes.

Mayor Lee highlighted the Port of Oakland as the region’s economic engine and a critical bridge to the Indo-Pacific. She noted that Asia accounts for the majority of the Port’s trade, with China remaining its largest import partner and a leading export destination. Even amid global uncertainty, Oakland continues to grow and invest for the future by modernizing infrastructure, expanding capacity, and advancing a zero-emissions transition, including work toward a green shipping corridor. “When you choose Oakland,” she emphasized, “you are choosing reliability, innovation, and climate responsibility. 

Discussions focused on innovation and industrial cooperation across agri-food, logistics, biomedicine, clean energy, and digital technologies, with targeted business exchanges supporting follow-on collaboration, including introductions of the China International Supply Chain Expo next year.

This exchange builds on a broader series of December engagements, including the Bay Area Council’s welcoming of delegations from the Shanghai Bureau of Environment and Ecology, the Mayor of Wuxi, and Liaoning Province, all reinforcing the Council’s role as a trusted convener connecting Bay Area strengths with China’s most dynamic regional economies. To learn more and engage in our China work, please contact Jennifer Zou, Senior Vice President of Global Initiatives & Head of Operations, China.