Doing Business in China

Doing Business in China

Everyday, you can find a news article about China's economic growth and the business opportunities that abound. Many US companies have done well with the expansion of their business in China, helping to not only reinforce, but grow their bottom line. However, beginning to think about how your business might be able to leverage this economic growth can be daunting and overwhelming. This session will explore some of the questions and issues with doing business in China. It will also outline some of the existing City services that can assist San Francisco-based companies.

Small Business Conference
SF State Downtown Campus
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Session 2, 10:50am-12:20pm

Ginny Fang, Executive Director, ChinaSF

In 2008, the City of San Francisco, leveraging its long-standing relationship with China, started a business platform to help support business in and out of San Francisco with China. This platform is called ChinaSF.

Ginny Fang serves as the Executive Director for ChinaSF, the premiere organization supporting business exchange into and out of San Francisco and the Bay Area with China. With offices in Shanghai, Beijing 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 by funding from 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.

Under Ginny’s leadership, ChinaSF has developed from its November 2008 opening, into a highly effective economic development organization yielding substantial results for the San Francisco Bay Area regional economy. Between 2008 and 2011, amidst one of the worst financial crises in history, ChinaSF successfully facilitated the expansion of over 12 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 150 jobs for our region, not counting any resulting multiplier effects and benefits.