Dallas mayor makes official visit

The city of Dallas, Texas, will be increasing its efforts to attract Chinese tourists and companies that are looking to set up their headquarters in the United States, said its mayor Mike Rawlings.

Rawlings was recently in Shanghai as the leader of a delegation to promote economic development, business opportunities and tourism in the city and the Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) region, the fourth-largest metropolitan area after New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

"North Texas is a hub of innovation and diversity. As the Dallas Fort Worth area continues to build its business markets internationally, we look to strengthen the ties we have with our global partners," said Rawlings.

Presently, about 31 Chinese companies have their US or North American headquarters or other facilities in DFW region. Some of these businesses include AZZ, DerbySoft, Huawei, NGC, TaoTao, Veri Silicon and ZTE.

According to the mayor, the easy access to the east and west coasts of the US, as well as the lower taxation and property costs make DFW region ideal places for corporations to be based.

"In my mind, Shanghai is the New York of China, with all the big company headquarters, and this is why we chose Shanghai as the destination for this trade mission," said Rawlings.

He pointed out that Dallas has been benefiting from Shanghai in many ways, especially since the launch of direct flights between the two cities in 2014. There are currently direct flights between DFW and Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, and non-stop flights to Guangzhou are also in the pipeline, according to Rawlings.

"We continue to see an increase in demand between Asia and DFW, especially as businesses continue to grow and relocate to Texas," said CEO of DFW International Airport Sean Donohue, who was a member of the delegation.

"At DFW, we are investing in the customer experience with an emphasis on the expectations of international travelers."

China is the third largest export market for Texas after Mexico and Canada. In 2016, China was also the US state's second largest import market behind Mexico.

Bilateral trade between Texas and China accounts for 10.3 percent of the state's trade with foreign countries. In 2016, exports from Texas to China was worth $10.8 billion while its imports from China hit $36.6 billion.