The Washington State China Relations Council helped to organize and lead a weeklong business mission to China May 9 to 13 that resulted in nine major agreements and investments.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and 60 business and education leaders visited Hong Kong and Shenzhen, a city with more than 10 million people that has become the high-tech and innovation hub of China. The trip was part of a larger effort to encourage more foreign direct investment in Seattle, expand economic opportunities for local companies, and establish international partnerships. WSCRC worked in partnership with the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle to support the International Leadership Mission to Shenzhen.

Among the deals announced in Shenzhen:

• A new nonstop flight between Seattle and Shenzhen by Xiamen Airlines will begin service in September.

• Shenzhen-based genomics company BGI and the University of Washington signed an agreement to develop a joint precision medicine institute to advance biomedical research and health care.

• China Vanke, the largest residential builder in China, announced its first investment in Seattle, partnering with developer Laconia to invest $200 million in a new residential tower.

“Seattle and Shenzhen are changing the world, and at the same time our cities are changed by the power of innovation,” Murray said. “Through stronger partnerships with our international peer cities, we can help each foster new advancements in technology and sustainability and create new opportunities for growth.”

WSCRC, which hosted “Shenzhen Day” for 65 companies and Shenzhen Vice Mayor Tang Jie on Earth Day in 2015, has played a key role in connecting the two cities and promoting partnerships between companies and organizations.

During the May trip, WSCRC signed an agreement with the Shenzhen Foundation for International Exchange and Cooperation to enhance strategic relationships and promote non-governmental cooperation between Shenzhen and Seattle. The agreement focuses on deepening exchanges between cross-border enterprises and entrepreneurs, as well as joint cultural and environmental programs.

Other agreements included:

• The City of Seattle and the City of Shenzhen signed an agreement to support “collaboration and exchanges among relevant entities in medical research, medical education, and the biotech and health industry in Seattle and Shenzhen.”

• Washington State University and BGI signed an agreement to cooperate on efforts to establish and conduct programs and activities of basic and applied research, technology and information transfer, and economic development.

• Snohomish County and the Economic, Trade and Information Commission of Shenzhen Municipality signed an MOU to develop a long-term promotion of bilateral trade and investment between the two regions.

Following the visit to Shenzhen, 20 business, government and academic leaders traveled with Mayor Murray to Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, for a city partnership and ecommerce mission organized by WSCRC. The delegation included executives from Amazon, Blue Nile, Costco and the University of Washington.

Hangzhou Mayor Zhang Hongming met Mayor Murray and the delegation and both sides exchanged ideas about the city partnership. The two cities signed an agreement to promote cooperation in trade and economy, ecommerce, information technology, life sciences, education and people-to-people exchanges. Mayor Zhang then hosted the group for an official lunch.

Members of the delegation then visited the headquarters of Alibaba and met with company executives.

During the Hangzhou visit, WSCRC signed agreements with two Hangzhou business organizations to begin exchanging visits and cooperating to promote the growth of business ties. Hangzhou’s Philadelphia China-US Culture Center hosted a “Seattle Meets Hangzhou” event with dozens of businesses from Hangzhou and interactive discussions on cross-border e-commerce, investment, education and tourism.

A city of more than eight million people, Hangzhou embodies both traditional Chinese culture and online industries of the future and will host the G20 Summit, to be held in China for the first time in September.

“This trip to Shenzhen and Hangzhou achieved many tangible results for our region,” said Kristi Heim, president of the Washington State China Relations Council. “We are so pleased to have played a role in bringing about new partnerships and closer ties between Seattle and two of the most innovative, important and dynamic cities in the world. Building these channels for engagement will help create more economic opportunities and lasting positive relationships between our people.”

“The trip reinforced our region’s close — and deepening — ties with China,” said Marc Berger, Senior Director, Executive Communications & China Practice at Nyhus Communications and a WSCRC board member. “The agreements that were signed and the announcement of Xiamen Airlines’ direct flight from Shenzhen to Seattle added important substance to our already strong relationships. Seattle will continue to grow in importance as a partner for Chinese companies that are investing in the U.S., and this trip further solidified the role of WSCRC at the forefront of the US-China relationship.”

“I would like to thank each person who has contributed to the success of this important mission to China,” said Jim Young, founder of Century Law Firm, PLLC and Vice Chair of the WSCRC board. “It’s probably the largest delegation from Seattle to China ever, involving the teamwork of many outstanding organizations and govermental agencies. Our success simply would not have been possible without the many sleepless nights of our friends in Seattle, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Hangzhou.”

Madame Peng Liyuan, the wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, visited the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center on September 23 as her only official visit while in Seattle. Together with Bill and Melinda Gates and Fred Hutch President Dr. Gary Gilliland, she toured the HIV vaccine lab and met with key scientists, including Nobel Prize-winner Dr. Linda Buck. Madame Peng, a World Health Organization goodwill ambassador, discussed opportunities for collaboration between US and Chinese researchers in vaccines for HIV, Ebola and other diseases, as well as innovative smoking cessation programs. The welcoming group included WSCRC Executive Director Kristi Heim. For the detailed information of this visit, please visit Fred Hutch website: http://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2015/09/madame-peng-liyuan-…

Washington state is ready to welcome China’s President Xi Jinping today when he makes Seattle the first stop in his visit to the United States. President Xi will give the only major policy speech of his trip on September 22.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his delegation departed from Paine Field Sept. 24 following two full days of meetings and announcements with many of Washington’s top business and government leaders. Gov. Jay Inslee, who led a trade delegation to China in 2013, invited President Xi to Washington because of the deep economic and cultural ties Washington shares with China. China is Washington’s state’s top trading partner with more than $29 billion of trade in 2014. Nearly one-quarter of all Washington exports go to China.

Washington state’s businesses, universities and research institutions were the focus of global news as President Xi, First Lady Peng Liyuan and dozens of Chinese governors, mayors and ministerial officials made stops throughout the Puget Sound region and signed business deals and partnership agreements.

“President Xi’s visit gave us a rare opportunity to truly showcase Washington state as a world-class center of innovation,” Inslee said. “Our universities, businesses and research institutions are on the leading edge of everything from technology and airplanes to vaccines and cures for cancer. President Xi’s visit will help strengthen ties with our Chinese partners and open doors for new partnerships around the world.”

President Xi gave his only policy speech of his U.S. trip at a dinner banquet in Seattle where dignitaries such as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger were in attendance. The president’s speech covered multiple topics including economic reforms, international relations and cybersecurity.

President Xi met with a local delegation of elected officials that included Senator Patty Murray, U.S. Representatives Jim McDermott, Rick Larsen, Adam Smith and Suzan DelBene, King County Executive Dow Constantine, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, and others.

Other highlights of President Xi’s visit to Washington state:

• The Paulson Institute co-hosted a U.S.-China Business Roundtable with 15 U.S. CEOs and 15 Chinese CEOs, at which the business leaders discussed issues, challenges and opportunities facing the two countries and explored ways to collaborate and strengthen the U.S.-China economic relationship. President Xi delivered remarks, noting that China is working to bolster its economy, advance reforms and strengthen business ties with the United States. Paulson Institute Chairman Henry M. Paulson, Jr., moderated a discussion with the business leaders, stressing the need for both countries to work together to sustain global economic growth and address global problems, such as cyber-theft and climate change.

• Microsoft hosted President Xi, First Lady Peng Liyuan and a high-level Chinese delegation Wednesday at its Redmond campus, where the company highlighted new technology and the role technology can play in advancing health, education and business. During his visit to Microsoft, Xi met with senior executives and board members, watched technology demos and reviewed innovative new devices. Xi met briefly with CEOs of technology companies who attended a meeting of the U.S.-China Internet Industry Forum earlier in the day. He also met privately with Bill and Melinda Gates.

• Madame Peng Liyuan, the wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, her only official visit while in Seattle. Peng, a World Health Organization goodwill ambassador for tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, met with Fred Hutch President and Director Dr. Gary Gilliland, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Co-Chairs and Trustees Bill and Melinda Gates, Fred Hutch Nobel Prize-winner Dr. Linda Buck and other key researchers during the one-hour visit. Peng and her delegation also toured a lab where critical HIV vaccine research is being done.

• President Xi visited Boeing’s factory in Everett for a tour of the company’s widebody commercial airplane factory. Several agreements were announced including orders and commitments for 300 Boeing aircraft and expanded collaboration between Boeing and China’s commercial aviation industry.

• President Xi’s final public stop was at Lincoln High School in Tacoma where he met with members of the Lincoln High School football team who presented him with a Lincoln Abe’s game jersey. The president also met with about 30 students in Lincoln’s Advanced Placement Government course taught by recently crowned Washington State Teacher of the Year Nathan Gibbs-Bowling. Gibbs-Bowling went to Fuzhou, China, as part of a teacher exchange program last year. During the auditorium presentation, President Xi shocked the audience with a generous invitation for 100 Lincoln High School students to visit him in China next year.

“We will look back on these two days as a major milestone in relations between our two great countries, with Washington state once again playing a central role in fostering positive ties,” said Kristi Heim, Executive Director of the Washington State China Relations Council. “This visit has shown our genuine goodwill and brought people from China and Washington state closer together to work for common good.”

Among the numerous agreements signed between Chinese delegates and Washington leaders was one by Inslee, five other U.S. governors and six Chinese governors and leaders to advance economic development opportunities related to renewable and clean energy technology. The Governors’ Clean Energy and Economic Development Accord establishes an agreement to collaborate on commercialization and deployment of clean and renewable energy technologies, promote energy efficiency, advance smart grid infrastructure, reduce transportation emissions, and improve air quality.

Washington state became the sixth sub-national government to sign an MOU for a Joint Working Group for Trade and Investment Cooperation between U.S. States and China Provinces. The Department of Commerce will lead the state’s participation in the working group with the provinces of Guangdong, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Hunan, Liaoning, Shanghai.

The Washington State Department of Commerce also put together an agreement between the state, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Intellectual Ventures and Stratos Group to explore collaboration between a Seattle technology incubator center and the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, manufacturing and life sciences. Bonlender initiated the agreement on an earlier trade mission to China and signed it several weeks ago in China in preparation for President Xi’s visit this week.

Other agreements include:

• The State of Washington, together with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Intellectual Ventures and Stratos Group, signed an MOU to explore collaboration between a Seattle technology incubator center and the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology.

• Sichuan, State of Washington, Tsinghua University and University of Washington signed an MOU to collaborate on renewable energy and advanced manufacturing technology including hydropower, wind energy, solar energy and biomass, smart grid technologies, conversion of natural gas into high-value products, and low-carbon transportation.

• Commerce Director Brian Bonlender also signed an agreement between Guangdong and Washington State on opportunities in clean energy, advanced manufacturing and life sciences. The agreement was initiated on an earlier trade mission to China and signed it several weeks ago in China in preparation for President Xi’s visit this week.

• TerraPower and China National Nuclear Corporation signed an MOU to collaborate on development and commercialization of a next generation nuclear power plant technology that builds on the joint announcement made Presidents Obama and Xi last November in Beijing. TerraPower Chairman Bill Gates was one of several witnesses on hand for the signing.

• Northwest Innovation Works, which recently signed a construction agreement at the Port of Kalama to build a cutting-edge new methanol manufacturing facility, signed several commercial agreements with Chinese businesses related to the project.

• Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and Washington State signed an MOU at the commemoration of opening of ICBC’s Seattle office. Washington State is now a preferred destination for foreign direct investment from China, and the MOU will aid the Washington State Department of Commerce in recruiting the overseas headquarters of Chinese companies.

“Governor Inslee and the Welcoming Committee worked very hard to secure the visit by President Xi,” said Commerce Director Bonlender. “We used this opportunity to maximize the state’s exposure, bring businesses together, and ink deals and agreements that can have a meaningful impact on the lives of Washingtonians. In the end, we are happy with what we were able to accomplish.”