Bay Ridge

Malliotakis sees opening for U.S. businesses in China

December 22, 2014 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis (seated left at head of conference table) and other members of the American delegation meet with municipal leaders in Shanghai. Photo courtesy Malliotakis’ office
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There are growing opportunities for U.S. companies to do business with China, according to a Brooklyn lawmaker who has just returned from a 10-day trip to that country.

Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis (R-C-Bay Ridge-Staten Island) was part of an eight-member delegation of American lawmakers to travel to China. The delegation visited the cities of Beijing, Chengdu and Shanghai.

The trip was organized by the China-U.S. Foreign Exchange Foundation (CUSEF), an organization that works to strengthen ties between the two countries. Malliotakis was the only member of the U.S. delegation from the Northeast.

“There is a growing opportunity for American companies to market their products and services in the developing nation due to the recent increases in purchasing power and rate of consumption,” Malliotakis said upon her return to the U.S. “There is a clear desire for many of America’s innovative products. This was evident when we visited Shanghai General Motors, which just celebrated selling 10 million cars since its establishment in 1997.”

Calling America’s relationship with China “one of the most important bilateral relationships in world,” Malliotakis said her trip provided her with an opportunity to examine the interaction between China and the United States in a global economy.

CUSEF Executive Director Alan Wong called the trip, which was privately funded and did not include the expenditure of taxpayer dollars, a success.

“We have great expectations that this delegation, through their personal experience gained from this trip and their respective leadership positions will make significant contributions toward the betterment of that relationship,” he said.

While Malliotakis saw plenty of areas of opportunity for businesses to find a market in China, she also cautioned that the country is plagued with problems.

“Despite China’s advancement in many areas, there are still many challenges that need to be addressed, such as problems with their justice system, lack of intellectual property rights, stifling regulations that place limitations on foreign companies looking to expand in their market and most commonly known, its history of human rights violations,” she said.

The delegation visited a number of business and educational centers including the Zhong Guancun High-Tech Park, where American technology companies such as Microsoft, Intel and Motorola are located; a secondary school in Chengdu; the Shanghai Institute for International Studies; Shanghai General Motors; and the American Chamber of Commerce in China.

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