Ties That Bind - Bay Area Council Economic Institute

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Ties That Bind
Shanghai Jiaotong’s School of International and Public Affairs, and two joint research agreements—one
on sustainable rural development and “new countryside building” with the Central
Party School, a think tank and training center for government leaders, and another with the
Shanghai Institute of American Studies on changing U.S.-China relations. The Center also publishes
a weekly summary of China political and economic news.
In February 2006, SFSU opened a branch of the Confucius Institute—one of four in the U.S.
and 20 worldwide—in cooperation with China’s National Office for teaching Chinese as a Foreign
Language. Three colleges on the SFSU campus—Education, Humanities and Extended
Learning—will work with the Institute to develop Chinese language instruction programs for
teachers, K-12 and college curricula for teaching Chinese as a second or heritage language, and
offering courses and programs on Chinese language and culture for non-diploma students,
among other activities.
Alumni connections work both ways: Beijing University, Tsinghua University, Nanjing
University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Fudan University, National Taiwan University,
Tunghai University, National Chiao-Tung University and others maintain active alumni
association chapters in Northern California—combined membership for the latter two chapters
is reportedly more than 2,500 alumni—to retain contacts with overseas graduates working in
Silicon Valley.
Trade Associations Spell Opportunity
Alongside the university links is a parallel network of business and professional associations.
They may be distinct to the PRC, Taiwan or Hong Kong; or to a profession, such as engineers,
software designers or accountants. They may be purely social networking groups, promote trade
and investment, facilitate cross-border networking and business incubation, or undertake policy
research on U.S.-China relations and business issues affecting the Chinese-American community
in the U.S. Some have links to government trade and investment promotion agencies. These
groups serve as an informal infrastructure for trade, investment and business development.
Government offices from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong provide official anchors for expanding
economic ties. It should be remembered that, until 1979, mainland China was not recognized by
the U.S. Hong Kong and Macau were territorial possessions of Great Britain and Portugal until
1997 and 1999, respectively. Taiwan had diplomatic recognition as the government of China until
1979, but recognition was withdrawn in favor of a more neutral “one China” position when
relations with the PRC were normalized. Contacts with Taiwan have since been conducted on an
unofficial basis, through counterpart non-governmental organizations. Today, the PRC conducts
official trade and investment promotion through its consulates. The Chinese Consulate-
General (PRC) is located in San Francisco, and has actively worked through the local Consular
Corps and with government agencies and non-profit business groups in hosting delegations and
programs, and showcasing Chinese manufacturers, science and industrial parks and cities offering
investment incentives.