Mayor Schaaf Touts Oakland’s Promise during Busy China Economic Tour

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf had one message for Chinese business and government leaders during a weeklong, five-city economic development tour the Bay Area Council recently organized: There’s no better place in California to invest than Oakland. In meetings in Dalian, Guangzhou, Zhongshan, Shanghai and Hong Kong, Schaaf touted the city’s fast-emerging technology sector, its proximity to top universities and access to world-class talent and its relative affordability. It was Schaaf’s first official visit to China since she was elected mayor, and she made the most of her time with a jam-packed schedule. Mayor Schaaf met with her counterparts in Guangzhou, one of China’s leading commercial and manufacturing cities, and Zhongshan, another of China’s economic powerhouse cities. She reaffirmed Oakland’s relationship with sister city Dalian, where she met with top port officials to discuss deepening cooperation with the Port of Oakland. Schaaf was joined in the discussions by Oakland Port Commissioners Yui Hay Lee and Michael Colbruno and interim Port Executive Director Danny Wan.

The trip wasn’t all business. Mayor Schaaf signed an MOU with the Mayor of Dalian to launch a high school exchange program for low-income families and attended a performance by the Oakland Youth Orchestra in Shanghai. The trip was one of many the Bay Area Council has led to China over the past decade to expand bilateral trade and investment opportunities. The Council operates offices in four major Chinese cities and partners with the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development to operate the California-China Office of Trade and Investment. To learn more about our China trade and investment services, please contact Chief of Global Business Development Del Christensen.

Sell, Sell, Sell: California businesses looking to showcase their products and services to the largest gathering of Chinese buyers won’t want to miss the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai from November 5-10, 2019. The Bay Area Council is partnering with the state of California to organize a large pavilion space at the Expo and invites California-based companies to display their goods and services. Learn more about the California Pavilion and sponsorship opportunities>>