AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry spent his first full day in Beijing promoting Texas’ world-class business climate and economic opportunities at an Invest in Texas forum and in meetings with officials from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. The governor is leading an economic development delegation of state and business leaders in Beijing before participating in the World Economic Forum in Tianjin later this week.
“International companies are choosing Texas because we are at the heart of international trade in the U.S. as the nation’s leading exporter for 12 years, with China one of our top partners,” Gov. Perry said. “We encourage innovation and investment in the fields of the future, like biotechnology, aerospace, computer science and energy by creating an economic climate where businesses of any type and size can grow and thrive.”
As part of his meetings with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, Gov. Perry signed a memorandum of understanding between the State of Texas and Tianjin, Fujian, Shandong, Jiangsu and Sichuan, recognizing the importance of developing and expanding ties of cooperation through business, trade, investment, tourism, education, research and development. The memorandum acknowledges the importance of commercial, scientific and cultural connections to the respective economies of each entity.
The Texas delegation in Beijing includes Secretary of State Nandita Berry, State Rep. Jason Villalba, TexasOne Chair Leslie Ward, U.S. China Partnerships President Bo Fan and representatives from the McKinney Economic Development Corp., Pflugerville Community Development Division, YTexas, FosterQuan and Lone Star Enterprises LLC, among others.
China’s economy continues to grow rapidly, and the Texas-China relationship is strong. China was Texas’ fourth-largest export destination in 2013, with $10.8 billion in exports, including industrial and electric machinery, chemicals, plastics and mineral fuel. That same year, Texas imported $42.8 billion in Chinese goods, the second-highest total among our trading partners.
Gov. Perry was in Tokyo yesterday, where he promoted stronger economic ties between Texas and Japan in a speech at the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.
