Commerce Under Secretary Aldonas Launches New Tools to Help U.S. Small and Medium-size Exporters Take Advantage of China’s Growing Market
BEIJING, China – In China with a delegation of U.S. manufacturers led by National Association of Manufacturers president Jerry Jasinowski, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Grant Aldonas today unveiled new tools to help U.S. companies expand exports to China’s growing market – the China Business Information Center, American Trade Centers and the Global Supply Chain Initiative. According to U.S. Commerce Department trade statistics, through June of this year, U.S. exports to China are up 36 percent over the same period last year, making China one of the fastest-growing U.S. export markets, and the sixth-largest U.S. export market overall. Last year, China’s worldwide imports increased by more than 40 percent. “Free and fair trade helps create jobs at home by opening foreign markets to American exports, but one of the biggest hurdles U.S. small and medium-size companies (SMEs) face in trying to export to China is a lack of information,” said Aldonas. “Eighty-six percent of all U.S. firms exporting to China are small and medium-size enterprises, and these new resources are part of the Bush administration’s commitment to helping smaller firms expand exports and create new jobs for Americans.”
The China Business Information Center (BIC) is the first comprehensive U.S. federal government resource aimed at helping American businesses take advantage of China’s rapid integration into the global economy. The BIC offers clients access to counseling with trade specialists in the United States, referrals to USFCS officers in China, and helps channel trade leads to clients through U.S. Export Assistance Centers. The BIC consists of an 800 number that the public can use to speak with a China specialist; a website with China-focused information and export tools; and a series of outreach events planned throughout the United States.