Vancouver welcomed its first business and education delegation from China earlier this week, a joint effort facilitated by the City of Vancouver, Port of Vancouver, Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce (GVCC) and the Columbia River Economic Development Council (CREDC). Five delegates from the city of Tongling, Anhui Province, spent the day learning about the community and discussing international opportunities in Southwest Washington.
The delegation toured the new City Hall, the Port of Vancouver, and two local manufacturers, Cadet Manufacturing and U.S. Digital. The Port also hosted a luncheon for the Chinese delegation to meet a dozen local community and business leaders.
The City of Vancouver, which has a sister city relationship with Joyo, Japan, anticipates that this will be the first of many such visits from foreign delegations.
“Foreign delegation visits give us an opportunity to foster international relationships with local businesses, nurture foreign direct investment possibilities and evaluate sister city partnerships,” said Vancouver City Councilman Larry Smith (also serving as Mayor Pro-Tem) in a press release. “The county-wide Economic Development Strategic Plan being rolled out by the CREDC calls for strengthening international ties to successfully transition Clark County to a robust, knowledge-based economy with globally competitive businesses."
CREDC's work to facilitate foreign delegation visits, international networking events and business workshops are part of the nonprofit's efforts to promote export growth among businesses.
Pictured: The Tongling Delegation along with port and city leaders at the Port of Vancouver Luncheon on Tuesday.
