In a move to help boost communication and strengthen cooperation among Chinese enterprises in the United States, a delegation from the China General Chamber of Commerce-USA kicked off a two-day trip to the West Coast on Tuesday and the first stop was San Francisco.

"Our mission is to serve the overall interests of Chinese companies doing business in the US and to bridge the gap between the business communities through communications and networking," said Yuan Ning, president of the China General Chamber of Commerce-USA. Yuan is also chairman and president of China Construction America, Inc.

He made the remarks in a high-rise in San Francisco's financial district, where China's Bank of Communications hosted the delegation on Tuesday afternoon.

Founded in 2005, the Washington-based business organization includes members representing about 1,800 Chinese companies in the US, of which 40 percent are based on the West Coast.

With six offices across the country, the organization supports a variety of critical industries, including finance, transportation and logistics, construction and real estate, telecommunications, mining, petroleum and chemicals, tourism and more.

The delegation will visit Los Angeles on Wednesday. During their San Francisco stay, a dialogue was arranged between the China General Chamber of Commerce-USA and San Francisco Chinese Enterprises Association (SF CEA).

"It is a great opportunity for us to come together and share experiences and learning to support our collective goal of greater cooperation between the US and China," said Ben Chen, president of SF CEA.

"All members have one thing in common - we all are invested in the success of the North American market and want to expand that market," Richard Huang, executive director of the China General Chamber of Commerce-USA, told China Daily on Tuesday.

Many new comers from China are not familiar with the investment environment of United States, and we want to help them be valuable contributors to this thriving market, he said.

Arthur Wang, president of Zarsion America Inc, said he found an organization like SF CEA to be an efficient platform for his business launch in Oakland.

"It's hard for us to launch real estate projects in the US, since we do not have networks here and do not know of enough people," he said.

"The association was introduced to us through the Chinese Consulate General's office, and I found its members most helpful when it came to sharing information, networking and providing advice," he said.

"The information I got saved us so much effort, money and time, and we are very thankful for their help," he added.

The SF CEA has 80 members, with 36 newcomers in 2013, said Xia Xiang, the commerce and trade consul ofSan Francisco.

"I have been in San Francisco for two years and three months, and have witnessed how this organization on the West Coast has developed so quickly riding the wave of the booming trade and investment relationship between California and China," he added.

Contact the writers at chenjia@chinadailyusa.com and zhangqidong@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 04/30/2014 page2)