This week the state visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao here witnessed a slew of bilateral trade and defence deals being inked across industries, with the White House noting that “China is a key market for U.S. exports. Those exports are generating jobs in every corner of the U.S. and across every major sector.”
The deals signed involved some of the U.S’ largest companies, but also an increasing number of small and medium-sized enterprises, according to officials, who underscored in particular an agreement for the sale of 200 Boeing airplanes valued at $19 billion.
Officials further said that Chinese companies had signed 70 contracts for $25 billion in U.S. exports from 12 states. “These included sectors ranging from auto parts to agriculture, machinery to chemicals,” according to a statement.
The White House also issued a statement noting that 11 investment contracts were signed worth $3.24 billion and additional transactions were announced or showcased, exceeding $12 billion in total value with approximately $986.8 million in U.S. export content.
Linking these deals to job creation in the U.S. economy, officials noted that the export-boosting transactions would in particular “help support an estimated 235,000 jobs” besides their overall impact of underpinning the “[expansion of] the U.S.-China commercial partnership, contributing to economic growth and development in both countries.”
Touching upon environmentally sustainable dimension of the deals Chinese and U.S. officials said that many of these transactions “highlight the increased collaboration in such areas as clean energy and green technologies.”
Notable among these in the transportation sector is a letter of intent, between the Chinese Ministry of Rail and General Electric, regarding expanding an existing strategic partnership to bring Chinese high-speed rail technology to the U.S.
GE and China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corporation Limited plan to form a joint venture in the U.S. to manufacture high- and medium-speed electric multiple unit trains, officials confirmed, and this venture could support up to 3,500 U.S. jobs. Overall this plan would support efforts to capture new business opportunities valued at up to $1.4 billion with an estimated $360 million in U.S. export content, a White House statement said.
Other commercial agreements associated with President Hu’s visit to Washington include: General Electric-Shenhua Gasification joint venture; General Electric-Huadian Joint Collaboration Agreement on decentralized energy combined heat and power projects; General Electric-AVIC Avionics joint venture agreement; UPC Management Wind Power agreements; Honeywell—Haier Group Memorandum of Understanding for global strategic cooperation; LP Amina MOU with Beijing Energy; LanzaTech--Bao Steel joint venture to build an ethanol plant; MVP RV – Winston Battery Limited Recreational Vehicle MoU; Caterpillar Inc. – Caterpillar China Investment Co. Ltd. business agreement; LP Amina MOU with Yixing Union Congregation Co. Ltd.; Optimax Systems, Inc – Shanghai Micro-Electronics Equipment Co., Ltd. Precision Optics Sale; Westinghouse Electric Company -- China Baotou Nuclear Fuel (CBNF) Fuel Fabrication Agreement; Westinghouse Electric Company-- China State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation (SNPTC) Nuclear Cooperation Agreement; Alcoa and the China Power Investment Corporation MoU; Emberclear and Clean Energy Research Institute Licensing Agreement; and American Electric Power Company – State Grid Corporation of China.
