Chinese industrial delegation signs MOU in Houston seeking business opportunities

Houston, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Representatives of CHINA Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation (CPCIF) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Greater Houston Partnership Wednesday evening, aiming at exploring business opportunities in the region.

President and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership Bob Harvey said his agency can provide one-stop services for Chinese investors who are seeking business opportunities. "CHINA's investment in Texas, particularly in Houston, has grown very significantly in the last several years," he said.

According to Harvey, CHINA is Houston's second largest international trade partner today after Mexico, and the trade volume between CHINA and Houston was expected to reach 20 billion U.S. dollars in 2018.

The total trade between CHINA and Houston was valued at 18 billion dollars in 2017.

Chinese Deputy Consul General in Houston Liu Hongmei, who attended the MOU signing ceremony, said CHINA and the United States are complementary in energy, and "there are very strong potentials for future cooperation" between the two countries.

The deputy consul general said the United States is one of the most important crude oil producers in the world, and Houston as an energy capital in the world is playing a key role in term of energy trading.

Jensen Shen, director of Asia, Australia and Oceania, the Greater Houston Partnership, told Xinhua that the energy trade between the United States and CHINA will help promote the economic cooperation by improving trading balance.

CPCIF is CHINA's leading industrial organization, with 1,728 member companies, in advancing industrial operations, promoting technical advancements, and perfecting the Chinese petroleum and chemical industry.

The Greater Houston Partnership is an economic development organization serving the Greater Houston area. It was established in 1989, when the Houston Chamber of Commerce, the Houston Economic Development Council, and the Houston World Trade Association merged, but its roots extend to the original Houston Chamber of Commerce's creation in 1840.