Silicon Valley mayors off to China, again

'Innovation, interaction and green' is trip's theme

A delegation of Silicon Valley mayors is setting off to visit China next month with the aim of promoting friendship and business opportunities between the United States and China.

The tour, themed "innovation, interaction and green", will take the mayors to Beijing, Chongqing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Jiangmen and Shenzhen during an 11-day visit from July 7-17, said Stephanie Xu, president of US-Asia Innovation Gateway, a non-profit corporation committed to advancing economic opportunities and investment between Asia and the US.

The mayors come from 10 Silicon Valley cities, which host such big companies as Facebook and Google. More than 10 venture capitalists and entrepreneurs will accompany them on the trip, Xu told reporters at a press conference on Friday in Palo Alto.

According to the itinerary, the delegation will attend a Sino-US Mayor Forum in Beijing, meet with government leaders at provincial and city levels and visit various places of interest. Topics discussed with Chinese leaders will range from building international incubators and service platforms for small- to medium-sized businesses to enhancing strategic and international entrepreneurship cooperation.

"It's quite often that Chinese leaders come to visit Silicon Valley, but Silicon Valley officials haven't really visited China so far. I have the feeling that China is still faraway and strange in many US political and business circles," said Xu.

She said they organized their first Silicon Valley mayors' trip to China last year, and it proved to be a success.

Some of the mayors attending this year's trip still have fresh memories of last year's tour.

"We all started out initially promoting our cities, but at the end of the trip we were promoting the region as a whole, to promote friendship between Silicon Valley and China," said Carol Dutra-Vernaci, mayor of Union City.

"I go over there with the intention that we may find the right fit, if I could find a fit for Dublin back from the trip, that would be great, a huge success," Dublin, California, Mayor David Haubert told the other mayors at the meeting.

"What I hope to gain personally on my first trip to China would be a deeper understanding of a culture that we all know is 5,000 years old and now waking up the world for the last 20 to 30 years. The progress each year is slow and steady, which is amazing," he said.

"In Dublin, a large number of residents are Chinese," Haubert said. "What a great way for them to feel a connection to home by trading international cultures. So this is a great opportunity for our residents."

M. Catherine Carlton, mayor of Menlo Park, speaks the best Chinese among the mayors, all of whom at least know basic Chinese greetings.

"Half of my heart belongs to China," Carlton told the meeting in Chinese.

"The first time I went to China as a tourist, but I stayed 10 years," she said. "I fell in love with China. I was thrilled to be a tourist in China, I loved being a businesswoman in China and I'm so honored to return to China as our representative of Menlo Park."

The trip will help Chinese people deepen their understanding of Silicon Valley, as many of them are not very clear about where and what Silicon Valley is, said Deputy Chinese Consul General to San Francisco Zha Liyou, who also attended the press conference.

"There are so many Chinese businesses and leaders at provincial and city levels who want to partner with the Silicon Valley, so this trip can serve as a bridge for the mayors to understand China as well as for the Chinese people to know about Silicon Valley," Zha said.

"We all share the vision of achieving economic growth and creating business opportunities by cultivating relationships between China and the US. We believe such communication and exchange will not only benefit businesses in China and Silicon Valley but also promote understanding and friendship between the two countries," he said.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com