Guangzhou welcomes US investors, says vice mayor

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By CGTN's Wang Guan

Senior officials from one of China’s largest cities said the country warmly welcomes US investors.

“As the largest bilateral trade relationship in the world moves into uncharted territories the private sector and cities such as Guangzhou can play an even more important role in strengthening bonds and economic development,” said Cai Chaolin, vice mayor of Guangzhou, the capital city of south China's Guangdong Province.

Cai made the remarks at a Fortune 500 Executives Forum in Washington DC on Tuesday.

Guangzhou is part of the Pearl River Delta — the world’s largest megacity. With a metro area population of around 42 million, more people live in this region than in California — and accounts for around 11 percent of China’s total GDP.

Along with Beijing and Shanghai, the Guangzhou area is one of China’s Big Three tech and innovation hubs, and already serves as a major gateway between East and West.

The Fortune 500 forum drew more than 100 leaders from top US companies, trade organizations and policymakers. They outlined ways to insure trade between the world’s two largest economies continues to grow.

Executives from US-based Fortune 500 companies also discussed the forces shaping the future of globalization, trade and innovation.

At a Fortune 500 forum on March 14, 2017, Guangzhou announced the opening of the city’s liaison offices in Boston and Silicon Valley, California. / Xinhua Photo

Guangzhou is the region’s largest city, and the third largest in China. It is the Asia-Pacific base for many of the world’s most innovative and fastest growing companies, benefiting from world-class transportation links into China and the region.

Guangzhou-based companies invested more than 5.3 billion US dollars internationally in 2016, and nearly half of all Fortune 500 companies have operations in the city.

For more than 2,000 years, Guangzhou – also known as Canton – has been a major hub connecting China to the world. Imports to China through Guangzhou exceeded 52 billion US dollars in 2015, and the city facilitated nearly 7 billion US dollars of foreign investment into China in 2016.

Guangzhou has become one of the world’s largest markets, with consumers spending more than 119 billion US dollars every year.