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18 October 2010 – San Francisco, CA: With the symbolic presentation of the “Key to the City of San Francisco, today ChinaSF (www.sfced.org/international/chinasf) opens its new Beijing office, its second such post in China joining its offices in Shanghai.  The ceremony today is the start of a weeklong business delegation to China, led by Mayor’s Office Jennifer Matz and ChinaSF Executive Director, Ginny Fang.  As the Director of San Francisco’s Office of Workforce and Economic Development, Matz acts as the Deputy Mayor and is the adviser to the Mayor of San Francisco on economic and workforce policy, and directs all efforts of that department.

 

“There is no more important international relationship to San Francisco than the one with the People’s Republic of China,” said Matz. “I look forward to continuing the cordial and productive professional relationships that already exist and building and fostering new ones.”

 

ChinaSF opens their Beijing office with support from ChinaSF Board member firm, The Hina Group, a China-based investment banking and private equity firm.  “We are thrilled to work with ChinaSF and support their expansion into Beijing.  As the headquarter location for countless Chinese businesses and the home of the central government, Beijing is a critical base for doing business in China.  With ChinaSF's growing number of relationships in the Beijing region, this not only demonstrates their current success, but also is a move that will reinforce and multiply the impact on increasing business deal flow between China and San Francisco,” states Dr. Hong Chen, Chairman & CEO of The Hina Group, recently awarded with the “Asia Pacific M&A Deal of the Year.”

 

“San Francisco is North America’s gateway to and from China, and ChinaSF is the key to those doing business between the two,” said Fang who will present the “Key to San Francisco” to Beijing officials as part of the opening ceremony. “Our Beijing presence is both needed and inevitable to truly leverage China’s market towards the betterment of our city and regional economy. Relationships take real people making real contacts in real time. The opening of our second office in China is demonstration of our effectiveness and success in building these business relationships.”

 

In addition to the opening of the Beijing office, the October trip with ChinaSF features a visit to China Sunergy, business meetings with active Chinese business leads, a demonstration of and trip aboard China’s high-speed rail system, a signing ceremony in Hangzhou, and a showcase of San Francisco’s Mission Bay biotech hub at the International Summit of China’s Pharmaceutical Industry.   ChinaSF is an official Overseas Partner for this Summit, forging relationships with major sponsors and hosts for this summit including the National Development and Reform Commission, the China Pharmaceutical Enterprises and Management Association, Institute of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, and many other key Chinese industry and government groups.  The Summit will take place in Hangzhou and cap the weeklong trip by ChinaSF officials and feature a keynote presentation by Matz and presentations by leaders of San Francisco’s biotech/life science industries. 

 

With offices in Beijing, Shanghai and San Francisco, ChinaSF is a public-private initiative of the San Francisco Center for Economic Development (SFCED), in close partnership with the City of San Francisco’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD), supported and advised by private sector partners.  Its goal is to attract and retain Chinese investment and business expansion into San Francisco and the Bay Area, and to also support San Francisco Bay Area businesses in their business efforts in China.

 

Between 2008 and 2010, amidst one of the worst financial crises in history, ChinaSF successfully facilitated the expansion of over 10 companies to San Francisco, and helped a similar number of Bay Area based companies make important business connections in China.  In addition to the financial investment into the Bay Area, ChinaSF’s efforts have directly created over 120 jobs for the Bay Area not counting any resulting multiplier effects and benefits.