Test

KIT at the CAST Conference

New Pittsburgh group primes local ties to China

Western Pennsylvania companies with products and services in demand in China can profit from an organization being formed to build business relationships there, said the leader of a Chinese science and technology association in Pittsburgh.

"We're starting the Pittsburgh-China Chamber of Commerce to promote trade between Pittsburgh and China, to help companies penetrate the Chinese market," said Frank Li, president of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Chinese Association for Science & Technology. "We're trying to identify technology companies in Pittsburgh that have established markets in the U.S., that are interested in expanding into the emerging markets in China."

Fang Liu, president of Fresh Link Industrial Ltd. of Cranberry, a supplier of China-made window hardware, said the goal of the organization is to provide Pittsburgh-based companies with information and contacts.

Liu, one of six founders of the proposed chamber, said they hope to open operations with offices in Pittsburgh and Beijing, along with satellite offices in other Chinese cities.

Area companies that could thrive in the Chinese market include those in medical technology, life sciences, various business services and even manufacturing, Li said. Pittsburgh has a lot of collaboration with Chinese firms in life sciences, emerging materials and energy, he said.

An effort also will be made to bring Chinese investors to Western Pennsylvania to buy into area companies or start businesses, Liu said.

"For decades, investment came from the West into China. We are at the very beginning stage of Chinese investment in the U.S.," said Li, a private wealth adviser for Merrill Lynch in Pittsburgh.

The Pittsburgh Technology Council President Audrey Russo is to meet next week with Li to discuss the initiative and learn more about the plans, said Kevin Lane, spokesman for the council, which represents more than 1,400 companies.

"The Technology Council aggressively encourages any initiative that expands the region's technology companies. China would certainly fit the bill as a desirable market to explore," Lane said.

The 18th annual Sino-U.S. Science and Technology Development Convention is being held today and Sunday at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown.

The convention, expected to attract more than 200, will examine emerging opportunities for both nations to collaborate on science and technology initiatives, officials said.

"Over the next decade, we see tremendous potential in information technology in China, particularly within the government sector," said Xiaoyan Zhang, a convention speaker and president of KIT Solutions, a Pittsburgh information technology company that serves health and human service agencies.

Full Article

By Joe Napsha, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, May 29, 2010