Chinese delegation seeks business opportunities in Texas, U.S.

HOUSTON, July 10 (Xinhua) -- A visiting delegation of Chinese entrepreneurs attended a business seminar in the fourth largest U. S. city of Houston Tuesday to learn more about the U.S. market and seek business opportunities.

The delegation, organized by the Chinese Commerce Ministry, comprised chairmen of ten companies from the Chinese cities of Beijing, Guangzhou, Chongqing, and Hainan Province.

At a welcome luncheon Monday for the Chinese delegation, Sarah Davis, Texas' state representative, and Patricia R. Lykos, representative of Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, presented certificates of recognition to the Chinese delegation.

U.S. and Chinese businesses can learn a lot from each other, Lykos said in her welcome speech.

The Chinese entrepreneurs are generally interested in the real estate market in the U.S., said Xue Xiaoming, head of the Chinese delegation, adding that delegates are studying the feasibility of two real estate projects in Houston.

The U.S. real estate market is comparatively mature, which makes the country's real estate projects appealing to Chinese investors, according to Xue.

However, Xue said, for Chinese companies which have no experience in the U.S., they should at first learn about related laws and regulations and the procedures of doing businesses in the country.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry, which has been encouraging Chinese companies to go global in recent years, aims at broadening the Chinese entrepreneurs' vision through business tours of this kind, said Xue.

Business ties between China and Texas have grown in recent years. Texas' exports to China reached 8.91 billion U.S. dollars in 2009, ranking third in the 50 U.S. states and almost 10 times the volume of 900 million dollars in 1999.

In 2009, nearly 16 billion dollars worth of goods from China entered the U.S. through Texas ports.