April 25th, 2016 ( Sacramento, CA) – California Center today reached strategic partnership and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Shanghai OuJian Network Development Co., Ltd. (OUJIAN) mainly on cross-border trading and eCommerce, international logistics, and Customs Clearance. The partnership will provide California Center members and suppliers with more resources and channels to enter into China market.

Headquartered at Yangpu District of Shanghai, OUJIAN is a leading cross-border business company in China, whose services include: customs declaration, freight forwarding, trading, finance, storage and transportation, and others, as well as its e-commerce platform YunMaoTong (www.yunmaotong.cn).

Xinhai Customs Brokerage Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of OUJIAN, has been the top Customs broker in China for the past 8 years, and is the current vice chair company of China Customs Brokers Association.

218341260840426064 — Margaret Wong ( Left) – the Founder and CEO of California Center ; Jizhong Ge ( Right) – the President of OUJIAN and Managing Director of International Federation of Customs Brokers Associations (IFCBA)

The California Center is proud to be a supporting partner of the U.S. Smart Cities Alliance 2016 “Follow-On” Trade Mission to China!

A Special Message from the U.S. State Department about the 2016 U.S./China Climate-Smart / Low-Carbon Cities Summit in Beijing:

Greetings,

We are delighted to announce that the 2016 U.S.-China Climate-Smart / Low-Carbon Cities Summit will take place in Beijing on June 7-8. The Summit is an extraordinary opportunity for U.S. and Chinese state and local government, civil society, and private sector leaders to share experiences in building low-carbon, climate-resilient communities. This major event demonstrates the ongoing strength of the U.S.-China bilateral relationship on climate change, as well as our two countries’ shared commitment to climate action following the successful Paris Agreement.

Highlights of last year’s summit, held in Los Angeles, included keynote addresses by U.S. Vice President Biden and China’s State Councilor Yang Jiechi; the signing by 24 state and local leaders of a first-of-its-kind “U.S.-China Climate Leaders Declaration”; attendance by over 500 people at six “breakout sessions” on low carbon city planning and implementation; and the launch of the “Alliance of Peaking Pioneer Cities” – Chinese cities committing to peak CO₂ emissions earlier than China’s national goal of 2030. A White House Fact Sheet summarizing last year’s summit is available here.

As in 2015, this year’s Summit will feature several high-level plenaries as well as a series of thematic breakout sessions, interspersed with key opportunities for networking with federal and sub-national government attendees and other civil society and private sector leaders. It will also serve as a public platform for the announcement of new climate-related commitments and partnerships, which we strongly urge you to consider putting forward. Finally, there will be a parallel low-carbon exhibition ongoing throughout the Summit. More details about the program, and specific opportunities for participation, are forthcoming.

We hope that you will mark your calendars to join us, and leverage this opportunity to highlight your organization’s commitment to climate action on an international stage. If you have any comments or questions, please contact me or my colleague, Emily Seen, at seenej@state.gov.

Sincerely,

Vance Wagner

—- David Vance Wagner China Counsellor Office of the Special Envoy for Climate Change U.S. Department of State

202-647-9678 (office) 202-341-4983 (mobile)

See below for more details on this unique trade mission and summit tailored specifically for U.S. leaders in clean, green and smart technologies.

Follow-On to “China Clean Technology – Business Development Mission” from April 2015

Expand Your Business Opportunity in China!

About the Mission

This trade mission from June 6- June 12th will be a follow-on Trade Mission by the private sector to the April, 2015 Trade Mission led by the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Commerce (designated as official Presidential Trade Mission), which focused on assisting in identifying potential partners and strategies for U.S. companies in target clean energy sectors. The companies involved have identified specific smart city/clean energy projects that have great potential for U.S. involvement and will be leading visits to those project sites located in Chengdu (Sichuan Province) and participating in the 2nd Annual U.S./China Climate Leaders Summit in Beijing featuring top leaders from the U.S. and China (Last year’s event featured keynotes from Vice President Joe Biden). Don’t miss this unique opportunity!

Mission Goals

This trade mission will continue to build on U.S. commitment to sustaining economic partnerships in China and supporting the business development goals of U.S. firms by exploring potential collaboration and demonstration projects, and to create a foundation for future business in China for U.S. companies.

Industry Focus

– Clean/Green Energy

– Smart City Technologies

To Join the Delegation, Please click the following link and fill out the forms：

Link: http://californiacenter.us/trademission2016/

Tentative Itinerary

*Subject to Changes

Monday, June 6 2016

– Participants arrive in Beijing

Tuesday, June 7 2016

– Participate in 2nd Annual U.S./China Climate Leaders Summit

– Team display booth options available

Wednesday, June 8 2016

– Participate in 2nd Annual U.S./China Climate Leaders Summit

– Private team meetings with high-level U.S./China officials on smart city planning

Thursday, June 9 2016

– Depart for Chengdu

– Tour local sights/Panda Experience

– Evening reception/tour Chengdu city nightscape

Friday, June 10 2016

– Embassy briefing on programs to support smart city/infrastructure in China

– Government meetings – Party Secretary of Sichuan Province

– Tour of Chengdu development area/high-tech zone

– Special presentation by USSCA team to Sichuan officials showcasing U.S. technologies

Saturday, June 11 2016

– Tour Tianfu New Area, U.S. Smart City Project site

– Explore existing foreign development sites

– Tour Meishan new development area

– Dinner with government leaders of Sichuan Province

Sunday, June 12 2016

– Return to United States on own itinerary

Cost All size Companies (Small, Medium, Large) $4,900/person

*Includes flight from Beijing to Chengdu, hotel accommodations, meals, all ground transportation

For more information on how your company may qualify as a participant for this special trade mission, please contact:

Gordon Hinkle

Tel: 916-371-6886 ext. 30

Email: Ghinkle@californiacenter.us

* This trip is being organized by the U.S. Smart Cities Alliance and California Center in partnership with several U.S. private sector companies and supported by several U.S. Government Departments

Download brochure

Shanghai , China (March 25th, 2016) – UCLA Extension, one of the nation’s oldest, largest, and most comprehensive continuing higher education providers, launched its first program Global Marketing in Media, Sports & Entertainment on March 25th in Shanghai, China. California Center provided all the marketing, recruitment and operation support to the program.

Students who attended the course are top managers from various companies, including Will’s Gym, LEDMAN Group, Hunan Huasheng Media Broadcasting Company, Sanxiang Huasheng Co Ltd of Hunan Daily Group, Shanghai International Marathon Organizing Committe, Shanghai Juss Event Management Co., Ltd., Chonqing Tinghui Advertising Co Ltd., Wuxi Subway Business Development Co.,Ltd., , Chongqing Suhuang Construction Co Ltd., Chongqing Linchuang Culture Broadcasting Co Ltd., Chongqing Tinghui Advertising Co, Ltd., and U.S companies FitPro and Food and Beverage World.

Using case study examples from both sports marketing and entertainment marketing, the three day courses will help students to learn about marketing and positioning a product as a brand, understand target markets and how to reach them, and about leveraging international strategies to create valuable partnerships and revenue streams. In addition, participants will acquire proven approaches for determining the best sponsorship partnerships and the importance of creating a compelling fan experience.

UCLA EXTENSION GLOBAL MARKETING COURSE COVER

Global Marketing Course in China by UCLA Extension - Course Photo 2

Nov. 22, 2015 Guangdong, China – During the annual meetings of 26th US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) in Guangdong, China, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker witnessed the MOU signing among the US Smart Cities Alliance, the California Center, and Sichuan Provincial People’s Government. The US Smart Cities Alliance and the California Center will cooperate with Sichuan government to help Sichuan with smart city development. Among the witnesses include Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, Stefan M. Selig, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for China within the International Trade Administration, Patrick Santillo.

For more info, please visit: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-industry-welcomes-trade-meeting-on-us-china-commercial-relations-300182982.html

About JCCT:

The JCCT, established in 1983, is a forum for high-level dialogue on bilateral trade issues between the United States and China. From its inception until 2004, the JCCT was co-chaired by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and China’s Minister of Commerce. Following the December 2003 meeting of President Bush and Premier Wen the two sides agreed the Commission would be co-chaired on the U.S. side by two cabinet officials (the Secretary of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative) and, on the Chinese side, by the Vice Premier responsible for foreign trade. The JCCT also includes 16 active working groups covering a wide variety of issues and industries including, intellectual property, environment, information industry, pharmaceutical and medical devices, statistics, commercial law, and trade and investment, among others.

SACRAMENTO,CA ( October 5th, 2015) – California Center’s President/CEO Margaret Wong and Vice President of Global Operations, Gordon Hinkle attended a special meeting yesterday at the Stanford Mansion in Sacramento, California. The meeting featured Governor Brown and China Party Secretary, Luo Zhijun of the Jiangsu Province who had gathered for a special friendship delegation meeting focused on climate change and business relations. Governor Brown and Jiangsu Party Secretary Luo Zhijun announced that Jiangsu Province – California’s Chinese sister-state – has endorsed the Under 2 MOU climate agreement, a pact among cities, states and countries around the world to limit the increase in global average temperature to below 2 degrees Celsius – the warming threshold at which scientists say there will likely be catastrophic climate disruptions.

Margaret Wong, President of California Center, speaks at the meeting.

Wong gave special remarks during the event detailing the engagement of California Center in the Jiangsu Province and its plans to create a special offline-to-online showroom to promote California goods and products in the city of Wuxi. Additionally, Wong promoted the creation of the newly formed U.S. Smart Cities Alliance (USSCA) which derived from an April Presidential Trade Mission team to China, led by Secretary Penny Pritzker of the U.S. Department of Commerce and Deputy Secretary Dr. Sherwood-Randall from the U.S. Department of Energy that Wong was a part of. The USSCA, being led by Wong’s McWong Environmental Technology company, and other top U.S. companies from the trade mission, like The Digit Group, Sensity, Xylem, Dais, Dresser-Rand and others — is focused on bringing top-down support in both China and the U.S. for U.S. smart technology and clean energy companies to engage in smart city projects all throughout China.

i19146lb0 — Governor Brown (Right) and Jiangsu Party Secretary Luo Zhijun (Left) shake hands after signing MOU.

48350841419253492 — Governor Brown delivers speech at the event.

126826745963257797 — Jiangsu Party Secretary Luo Zhijun speaks at the event.

154836289571596254 — Brian Peck, Deputy Director of International Affairs and Business Development, speaks at the event.

508474879354352177 — Susanne T. Stirling, Vice President – International at California Chamber of Commerce, speaks at the event.

Beijing, China (August 17-19, 2015) – California Center successfully organized a group of U.S. companies to attend U.S. Embassy meeting in Beijing and U.S. Business Summit at Green Dragon Lake district in Beijing, China from August 17 -19, 2015. The purpose of the meeting and the Summit is to help U.S. companies to understand the Green Dragon Lake (GDL) project and how to implement U.S. companies’ technologies into the project. Owned and operated by China Development Orient Urban Development and Investment Co., Ltd ( CDO), the GDL project is a world-class sustainable energy and clean technologies project that will utilize the latest in clean/smart energy innovation. The project presents a great opportunity for U.S. companies in green energy/smart city industries to implement their technologies into the project. Participating companies include Honeywell, Cisco, GE, McWong Environmental Technology, The Digit Group, Dais Analytic Corporation, Dresser-Rand, Xylem, Autodesk, LumaNext, Ecolab Inc and Chic Capital. Most of the participating companies are also the ones that joined the April presidential trade mission in China led by Secretary of U.S. Department of Commerce.

On August 17, the group attended the meeting at U.S. Embassy in Beijing and was welcomed by Val Huston, Principal Commercial Officer at U.S. Commercial Service of U.S. Embassy, together with other U.S. Embassy staff. During the meeting, the group discussed about the Green Dragon Lake project and how U.S. companies can participate to help the project to become a low-carbon model city in China. At the beginning of the meeting, Margaret Wong, President of California Center and McWong Environmental Technology introduced the overview and history of the forming of U.S. Alliance on Smart Energy and low carbon cities. Following that, special presentation about the Green Dragon Lake project was delivered by Edward Zhu, the Chief Strategist of CDO. The special presentation along with the Q&A section answered questions about the scope of the project, technologies that will be used and overall vision of the project. Later, Paul Doherty of The Digit Group presented how U.S. companies can assist GDL to become a successful low carbon/smart city by implementing U.S. technologies in the project. Val Huston of the U.S. Embassy are very supportive of the project and provided detailed suggestion on how the group can better relay the significance of the project in order to gain top-down level support from both U.S. and China governments.

On August 18th, the group attended U.S. Business Summit at the Green Dragon Lake project site. In the morning, China Development Orient Urban Development and Investment Co. Ltd. (CDO), the operator of the project, held a site tour to help the group to understand the development area and surrounding environment. Following the site tour, CDO chairman Mr.Zuo Kun and Vice President Mr. Zhang Kun welcomed the group and gave the group an overview of the Green Dragon Lake project, including the project’s mission and planning. In the afternoon, the U.S. companies present had the opportunity to provide individual presentations about their companies with the group and CDO representatives. Several individual private meetings for contract negotiations also occurred with many of the companies present and CDO.

The next day on August 19th, the business summit concluded with more private meetings and discussions with U.S. companies and CDO.

In summery, the meeting at the U.S. Embassy and the Business Summit at the Green Dragon Lake project site were well received by all parties. California Center will continue to connect U.S. companies with the project and help U.S. companies to get contract from it. Gaining support from U.S. government will help facilitate the collaboration between U.S. companies and the project. Therefore, California Center is planning to provide a high-level debriefing about the summit in Washington D.C. with U.S. government staff from Department of Commerce, Department of Energy , U.S. Trade office and so on.

Washington D.C.(July 15th,2015)-California Center successfully organized a high-level briefing in Washington D.C. to introduce China-based Green Dragon Lake (GDL) project, which is a newly developed urban area in design phase located 25 kilometers southwest of Tiananmen Square in Beijing and covers about 122 square kilometers. Owned by China Development Orient Urban Development and Investment Co., Ltd, the GDL project is a world-class sustainable energy and clean technologies project that will utilize the latest in clean/smart energy innovation. The project presents a great opportunity for U.S. companies in green energy/smart city industries to export their technologies to the project.

The briefing was held at the U.S. Department of Commerce office in downtown Washington D.C. on Wednesday, July 15th, 2015 from 8:00am to 10:30am. The goal of the briefing was to put the GDL center stage for key decision and policy makers in U.S. government and related U.S.companies to support and participate in the project.

The briefing was very successful and well-received by the attending U.S government officials and companies.

High-level Guest Speakers at the Briefing including:

Patricia Loui – Board of Directors Member, EXIM Bank (Presidential Appointee)

George Mui – Senior Advisor for the White House – Initiatives on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders/Global Market Access Team Lead, U. S. Department of Commerce – MBDA

John C. Yang – Senior Advisor for Trade and Strategic Promotion, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce (personal advisor to Secretary Penny Pritzker and to the President)

Albert Shen – National Deputy Director, Minority Business Development Agency, U.S. Department of Commerce

Carl B. Kress – Regional Director East Asia, The Middle East, North Africa, Europe, Eurasia/Energy Sector Worldwide Team Leader, U.S. Trade & Development Agency

Patrick Santillo – Deputy Assistant Secretary for China, U.S. Department of Commerce

John Larsen – Trade Promotion Coordination Committee Secretariat, U.S. Department of Commerce

Frank Spector – ITA Trade Missions, U.S. Department of Commerce

Edward Zhu – Chief Strategist, China Development Orient Urban Development and Investment Co., Ltd

Margaret Wong – President/CEO, McWong Environmental Technology and California

Center

Gordon Hinkle – Vice President, California Center

List of Key U.S. Companies/Agencies/Organizations in Attendance at briefing:

Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S. DOC
California Center
Capitol MBDA Business Center, U.S. DOC
China Development Orient Urban Development and Investment Co. Ltd.
Cummins Inc.
Dais Analytic
Dresser-Rand
Essex
Honeywell
International Trade Administration, U.S.DOC
McWong Environmental Technology
National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (ACE)
Sensity Systems
Superior Brands Corp.
The Digit Group
U.S. Department of Commerce – Office of the Secretary
U.S. Department of Energy
U.S. DOC ITA Industry & Analyst Division
U.S. DOC ITA Office China
U.S. DOC ITA Travel Missions
U.S. Export Import Bank
U.S. National Export Strategies
USTDA
White House – Initiatives on AAPI (WHIAAPI)
William McDonough

On May 14^th 2015, Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship presented Margaret Wong the 2015 “ACE” Entrepreneur Award during the 2015 ACE National Conference in Washington. This prestigious award is presented to outstanding business leaders like Ms. Margaret Wong who has built an exemplary business and are a role model for the Asian Americans and Pacific Islander business community.

Margaret Wong, President and CEO of California Center, McWong Environmental and Energy Group and McWong International, Inc., has been doing business with US and China for almost three decades. Margaret has been known as the “Business Empress” based on her success in linking multi-million dollar businesses between California and China, and at the same time serving as “unofficial ambassador” to China in her quest to promote better business cultural understanding between US and China. Thanks to her dedicated hard work and contribution to linking businesses between U.S. and China, Margaret Wong has won numerous other awards, including the 2012 U.S. Presidential “E” Award for Excellence in Exporting and the 2011 U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) “Exporter of the Year”.

MAY 15TH, 2015

SACRAMENTO, CA – A special committee of community leaders, led by Celebration Co-hosts C.C. Yin Founder of the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association (APAPA) and Margaret Wong, President/CEO of the California Center, has been formed to commemorate the 150th Anniversary Celebration Commemorating Chinese Building of the U.S. Transcontinental Railroad. The Opening Gala Celebration was held on Friday, May 15th, 2015 at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, California to honor the thousands of Chinese immigrants who helped build our nation’s first transcontinental railroad and as a result helped to shape our nation’s history.

Sponsors and Hosts — Hosts and Sponsors of The Celebration

china-california-jpg — C.C. Yin (L) – Founder of the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association (APAPA) ; Margaret Wong ( R) – President/CEO of the California Center

11165299_950082611709879_72041660143058808_n — Photos courtesy of John Oback

11264965_950083898376417_8673281743368366130_n — Photos courtesy of John Oback

11053065_950083918376415_3812756545280275320_n — Photos courtesy of John Oback

More photos can be found at APAPA Facebook Page: Link

Between 1865 and 1869, thousands of Chinese immigrant laborers toiled at a grueling pace and in perilous working conditions to help construct the world’s very first transcontinental railroad. Without Chinese workers, it would have been impossible to complete this historic expansion effort that played a major role in building America. The Chinese laborers worked through natural disasters, wars, and a changing transportation industry, but never received the full attention and credit that they deserved – until now!

“It is an honor to work with so many of our state’s community leaders to finally pay a proper tribute to the countless Chinese workers, many of whom gave their lives, to help build the first transcontinental railroad in the U.S. – forever changing the shape of progress and industry in our great nation,” said C.C. Yin, Founder of APAPA and Co-host.

A significant part of the celebration included the promotion and release of a documentary film which details the story of Chinese immigrants and their involvement in the building of the railroads. Over the last 10 years, the special documentary film crew for “The Silent Spike,” by Shandong TV & Media Group has been to America dozens of times. They visited numerous historical sites and museums along the pacific railroad to gather information on the Chinese workers. They visited the University of California, Berkeley; Stanford University, University of Reno, the Chinese Historical Society of America and other relevant agencies doing research. The group also interviewed more than 70 experts in history, business, political officials, the descendants of laborers, as well as several small historical town residents. They collected volumes of important historic information about the Chinese railroad workers and plan to share that wealth of gathered history, to help celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the workers during this series of special events.

During the Opening Gala, Professor Xuejun Yang from Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts exhibited his Sculpture The Trailblazer, one of a series sculptures he has been working on since 2010 to commemorate the great contributions Chinese immigrants made to build the U.S. railroad. More information about Professor Yang can be found at http://yangxuejun.artron.net/ .

Sculpture The Trailblazer by Professor Xuejun Yang was exhibited at he Opening Gala.

2031587185 — Professor Xuejun Yang discussed about the stores why he created the sculpture.

For more details about the events and history, visit: www.railroad150.com

The following blog was first posted on the U.S. Department Commerce website. The original link is http://www.commerce.gov/news/blog/2015/04/chinas-long-term-play

China’s Long-Term Play

April 20th, 2015 – Guest blog post by Margaret Wong, President and CEO of California Center (Golden California Inc.) and McWong Environmental Technology

Californai Center and McWong Environmental Technology President & CEO Margaret Wong joins Commerce Secretary Pritzker, Ambassador Baucus, Deputy Energy Secretary Sherwood-Randall and other officials on 24-American company delegation to China

As a participant of a special 24-American company delegation to China, led by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Secretary Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, I came prepared to share with U.S. and China leaders about the latest in U.S. capabilities and the business opportunities for U.S. environmental and energy efficient technology and services to be utilized in China. In particular those technologies related to clean water, smart cities and the latest wastewater treatment techniques – with a highlight on unique solutions we use to treat specific contents of wastewater, by using mainly membrane and thermal technology in the zero liquid discharge processes. Thanks to U.S. leadership like that of Secretary Pritzker and Deputy Secretary Dr. Sherwood-Randall, there has been a very positive top-down approach to help build public-private partnership allowing businesses like ours to create bottom-up solutions that have been warmly received. Not only have I found a warm welcome by the numerous leaders we have met with along the way, but I have found a common thread that speaks to the larger picture, which is the deep interest to create better and improved methods for smart and sustainable growth in China.

A lot has been made about recent reports indicating a slow-down in China’s economy, noting a reduction from 10 percent annual average GDP gains from 1980 to 2012 to the latest numbers Wednesday, indicating that China’s first-quarter gross domestic product grew 7 percent, the slowest pace since the 2009 global recession. However, very little is being discussed about what I call “China’s long-term play,” to turn China’s economy into a more sustainable one. A recent Bloomberg article also illustrates this point by noting that at the same time that many are noting a reduction in GDP gains, they are failing to point out the “scent of fast money hovering over Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong, where stock markets are enjoying explosive rallies. The Shanghai Composite Index is up 94 percent over the last 12 months and some $4 trillion has been added to the total market value — now $7.3 trillion — of companies listed on domestic exchanges over the past year.”

The article goes on to point out that the services sector for the first time accounted for more than half, at 51.6 percent, of GDP in the first quarter and that consumption growth was also solid. These factors cannot be ignored. It is clear from our meetings with key government representatives, that China is focused on creating new and innovative solutions to not only sustain economic goals but also to improve living conditions and build more environmentally sound/efficient long-term investments into their cities. The U.S. has a unique opportunity to step up in these areas and assist China in meeting these admirable goals.

However, such investment in creating sound and sustainable growth will not come without some growing pains. My personal experiences and discussions during this trade mission lend credence to the notion that China is committed to the long haul. McWong Environmental Technology will do all it can to create sound clean energy solutions to assist in those efforts, to improve the overall quality of life in China – which in turn has global benefits for us all in terms of economic stability and improved health!

California Center News

Category: California Center News