Michigan boosts ties with China

Business leaders in Michigan are eager to develop trade relationships with Chinese companies, and their counterparts in China are interested in pursuing win-win arrangements.

The first ever China Week in Michigan just wrapped up its gathering on Wednesday. More than 150 Chinese business executives and their local counterparts attended a series of networking events from May 6 to 9, including presentations and tours in Detroit, Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids.

The initiative, hosted by the Michigan-China Innovation Center, aimed at strengthening business ties between China and Michigan.

"The program has focused on government-to-government, business-to-business, and people-to-people exchanges to deepen our friendship and understanding," said Brian Connors, executive director of the Michigan-China Innovation Center.

In an opening speech on Monday, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said his city experienced years of decline but was now making a rapid comeback. Residents are moving in and it is a good time to invest in the city.

He said the city wanted to reintroduce itself to Chinese business leaders and let them know about all of the opportunities there.

China is the third-largest export market for Michigan, trailing Canada and Mexico, according to Connors.

The Wolverine State is also home to more than 300 Chinese companies that represent more than $4.2 billion in cumulative investment and support more than 6,000 jobs.

Tom O'Mara, vice-president of Autocam Medical equipment manufacturer outside of Grand Rapids, hosted a tour for about 50 Chinese visitors, businessmen and dignitaries.

The manager of Autocam's manufacturing facility in Suzhou was also present and gave a presentation in Mandarin, which made the visit go more smoothly, O'Mara said.

"Our attitude is that we are a global company, all of our facilities are part of our family," he said. "We are there[in China] to serve the local market and we are hopeful that we can develop our local business with China as we go into the future."

Software developer Kyler Wilkins led a tour of Menlo Innovation Factory in Ann Arbor. He called the Michigan China Week visit "awesome".

"Number one - all of our guys really enjoyed talking to the people that came in," he said. "They came from diverse backgrounds, some people worked in the software industry, hardware, manufacturing."

"They asked some great questions about how they could apply some of the things that Menlo does to their company," he said. "We are open to working with anyone, any kind of clients around the world."

Wilkins said that they discussed and compared hiring practices, operations, salaries and hours. "We don't work more than 40 hours a week," he said. "They talked about working a bit more."

Conners said several business deals were moved forward at the forum, but added that they were not quite ready to be announced.

Connors also said the conference yielded other positive results. "We learned that despite the current trade and investment difficulties between our two countries, that the business community is still very interested in having a constructive relationship with their counterparts on both sides," he said.

O'Mara said, "In the long run, our two countries can work together."

Liu Yinmeng and Xinhua contributed to this story.