Georgia Welcomes Key Journalists from China

By Sophia Sun
Recently, we had the pleasure of hosting a group of journalists from several top tier Chinese news agencies for a three-day tour. They were introduced to several Chinese companies in Georgia, as well as the business-friendly environment and the various connections between Georgia and China. Delta's recent announcement of the direct flight between Atlanta and Shanghai starting in July 2018 has further increased China's interest in Georgia, and its position as the No. 1 state to do business in the U.S.

The journalists were from:

Xinhua News Agency, the largest news agency in China
Caixin Media
Sina Finance
21^st Century Business Herald

Every day of the tour was exciting and eventful for these journalists.

Day 1

The tour started from the Georgia Department of Economic Development's (GDEcD) office. Chinese journalists interviewed senior leadership of GDEcD and learned about economic development in tourism, film, trade and global commence in Georgia.

Afterwards they attended a "Celebration of Success" event where journalists learned that Georgia was named the No. 1 state for business by Area Development for the fourth year in a row, and they also heard the Governor announce that GDEcD has been ranked the nation's best state-level economic development agency by the Development Counsellors International (DCI).

The journalists interviewed Commissioner Wilson and Mr. Li Ning, President of Honeywell Home and Building Technologies of Greater China & Asia Pacific and Safety and Productivity Solutions Greater China.

The Chinese journalists meet and interview Commissioner Wilson at the Honeywell event

Honeywell also announced the establishment of a software development center and headquarters for their Home and Building Technologies division in Atlanta, Georgia – a move that will create more than 800 jobs.

The next stop was SANY America located in Peachtree City, which is approximately 1 hour south of Atlanta. SANY America manufactures, sells and supports construction and material handling equipment including, crawler cranes, truck cranes, hydraulic excavators and wheel loaders. They interviewed Doug Friesen, the CEO of SANY America, who discussed Sany America's strategy for growth in the Americas.

Here Xinhua News Agency interviews the CEO of SANY America

Those journalists were very impressed by the Sany facilities. They learned that the 400,000 square-foot facility is also a popular spot for film production.

As day one came to an end, the Chinese journalists visited the Delta Flight Museum, where they interviewed Wong Hong, the President of Delta Air Lines, Greater China. They were excited to know the behind-the-scenes story of Delta's latest decision to restart the direct connection between Atlanta and Shanghai.

Group interview with Wong Hong at the Delta Air Lines headquarters

Day 2

After a good night's rest, the journalists had a refreshing breakfast with Partnership Gwinnett and Explore Gwinnett at the 1818 club. Partnership Gwinnett is a public-private initiative dedicated to bringing new jobs and capital investment to Gwinnett County, which is home to the largest population of Asian residents in Georgia.

Following PAX Technologies' location to Gwinnett in 2008, Chinese investment in Gwinnett County includes:

Hisense Corporation USA
LifeArt Cabinetry
Linhai Power Sports

The journalists interview Partnership Gwinnett and Explore Gwinnett

Hisense is one of the largest TV brands in the world with product available in more than 130 countries. The journalists were able to tour the completed facility of Hisense USA Corporation, including a showroom. In this showroom, they explored the latest products of Hisense, including 16K projectors, 4K TVs, fridges, beverage chillers, dehumidifiers, and professional displays. Afterwards, they interviewed Jerry Liu, the president of Hisense USA Corporation.

Jerry introduces the latest Hisense TV products to the journalists

Jerry shared several success stories regarding Hisense USA with the journalists, including:

The support GDEcd had given during the development of Hisense
The important role Savannah port played in logistics-planning for Hisense
Last year, Hisense gained a total of $1.5 billion sales in the America

LifeArt Cabinetry was the next stop. LifeArt Cabinetry Corporation is owned and operated in the U.S. with a manufacturing plant in China. The president, Jason Chen and Cecil, general manager of LifeArt, shared their story of how a family-owned company of kitchen cabinets grew their business in the U.S. Jason and Cecil were kind enough to take us to lunch on Buford Highway, which features a wide variety of Asian cuisine.

Cecil demonstrates the new cabinet product at LifeArt

Xinhua News journalist shoots the manufacturing process at LifeArt

The final stop on that day was the opening event of US-China Tourism Leadership Summit, which was held at the Porsche Experience Center. The group of journalists took a ride in Porsche racing cars with professional drivers and enjoyed the new attraction in Georgia.

The test track at the Porsche Experience Center located adjacent to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

Day 3

In the morning, the journalists attended the US-China Leadership Summit Conference Meeting. Then, they toured Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology.

The journalists meet and interview the leadership and faculty of Emory University on campus

They interviewed the leadership and faculty members of those two universities to find out more about the unique public/private partnership between Georgia Tech and Emory that has produced one of the top biomedical engineering programs in the United States. The journalists also got the chance to meet the basketball coach from Georgia Tech who talked about their upcoming basketball game against UCLA in Shanghai on November 11^th. Both universities have active partnerships with universities in China. Shelton, pictured below shared his experiences both studying in Atlanta and now actively recruiting future Chinese students abroad.

Shelton, an industrial engineering graduate from Georgia Tech, shares his working experience with Xinhua News.

It was a pleasure hosting these journalists for 3 action-packed days. We hope they returned home with a new appreciation for Georgia.

For more about what Georgia has to offer Chinese businesses and families please visit Georgia.org/China or WeSpeakBusiness.cn