Xiangxi immigrated to Zhu Min

In the past 200 years, 80% of the global wealth growth has come from countries on both sides of the Atlantic. When the wheel of history entered 2 1 century, the growth point of world wealth began to shift to the Pacific Rim. It is estimated that in this new century, 70% of the world's new wealth will be created by the Pacific Rim, and the coastal areas of China and the west coast of the United States will undoubtedly play an important role. From Shenzhen, it takes only 15 days for container ships to sail to the west coast of the United States, and it takes 33 days to reach the east coast. This simple comparison reflects the close relationship between the west coast of the United States and China. In recent years, the rapid economic development of Asian countries such as China has made many people on the west coast of the United States exclaim that the "Pacific Century" has arrived.

"The people of China gave me a job."

The changes that have taken place on the west coast of the United States in the past two years have made Global Times reporters really feel the warm wind from China on the other side of the ocean. In an interview with Universal Studios Los Angeles, the reporter found that a black worker always greets yellow tourists in Chinese, such as "Hello", "Please go slow", "Please sit down" and "Are you finished?". When the reporter chatted with him, he learned that he was unemployed at home the year before last. Last year, he went to Universal Studios to look for a job. The employer knew that he could speak Chinese and hired him without saying anything. He said, "The people of China gave me a job." From Seattle Port and Tacoma Port in the northernmost part of the west coast to San Francisco Port, Oakland Port and Long Beach Port in California, and then to San Diego Port in the southernmost part, this golden corridor, together with Hawaii and Alaska, has become a broad frontier for the United States to reach emerging Asian countries such as China.

1784 In February, the first American merchant ship "empress of china" set sail from new york Port on the east coast of the United States for China, which opened a new era of Sino-US relations. 205 years later, the first cargo ship "Linhai Liu" flying the flag of China entered Seattle Port on the west coast of the United States. At that time, The New York Times reported: "Thirty years after the interruption of the Sino-US sea route, China's first cargo ship docked at Seattle Port, and the military band played a welcome song. Politicians were waiting for this historic moment in the chilly wind." However, this China freighter, which sailed into the American port in the cold of late spring, heralded the coming of Pacific warm wind.

After more than 20 years, Seattle Port and Long Beach Port became the most prosperous ports in Sino-US trade. In August, 2004, Global Times reporter witnessed the scene that the 77,000-ton container ship "COSCO Long Beach" made its maiden voyage to Long Beach Port in the United States. The reporter saw at the scene how American employees were in high spirits. Because of the arrival of "COSCO Long Beach", the business volume of the port has been further guaranteed. The trade between China and the west coast of the United States has experienced a tortuous process. 10 years ago, COSCO and Long Beach Port Authority reached a contract to lease an abandoned naval base, but this purely commercial contract became an anti-China victim for political reasons. Now, the West Coast has finally come out of the shadow of misunderstanding about China.

Dr Wei Jiafu, president of COSCO Group, told the reporter that the economic development of China is the driving force for the development of world shipping. Some people in the United States have always said that the United States has a large deficit in Sino-US trade, and the development of China has deprived Americans of employment opportunities. This statement is wrong. He told reporters that COSCO Group employs more than 600 American citizens and provides employment opportunities for the US. Cosco flies directly to Boston, USA, keeping the jobs of 9000 employees in Boston.

At the northern end of the west coast, the port city of Tacoma also realized the importance of expanding the international market and headed for Asia-Pacific and China. Patty, director of Tacoma's economic development department, and Farrell, director of the port, told the Global Times reporter that the success of China's foreign trade has made the freight exchange between Tacoma Port and China develop rapidly, and more and more China ocean-going cargo ships have entered Tacoma Port. At present, the import and export trade between China and the United States is a stable big market. Tacoma should seize the opportunity to accelerate the expansion of the Pacific Rim trade market.

In the United States, the west coast States have always had a tradition of openness and tolerance, with California being the most important. Americans on the west coast not only felt the warm wind blowing from China on the other side of the Pacific Ocean first, but also benefited the most from it. Mr. Su Yang, the vice president of the China General Chamber of Commerce who once worked in Los Angeles, told the Global Times reporter that the western part of the United States is the closest area of the United States to Chinese mainland and the western gate of the United States to Asia. The natural conditions here are superior, and there are many natural harbors. California is the largest state in the United States in terms of economy and population; As far as Sino-US economic and trade cooperation is concerned, California is also the largest state in the United States. China's influence on the West Coast has also been confirmed in Silicon Valley. The population of Silicon Valley only accounts for 2% of the total population of the United States, but it attracts nearly 40% of venture capital in the United States. China and Indian companies are emerging here. When interviewed in Silicon Valley, the reporter met Mr. Zhu Min, President of Netcom. In his view, with the development of globalization and Asian countries, Silicon Valley will better accept and recognize China enterprises and Indian enterprises in the future, bringing more convenience to immigrants and entrepreneurs.

Both enterprises and governments have turned their eyes to China.

In recent years, many venture capital enterprises from the west coast have poured into China. These enterprises always take the investment philosophy of "investing rather than being an enterprise that drives away from home 1 hour or more". Surprisingly, since the end of 2003, they have frequently visited China, far away from Wan Li and across the Pacific Ocean.

David, president of Chicago-based Blue Bridge Consulting, has a deep understanding. He told Global Times that his company mainly provides business advice to American companies doing business with China. Business has been getting better and better in recent years. At present, China's related business accounts for 70% of the company's total business. David said that when 1990 was studying in South Korea, he saw the great influence of China culture on neighboring countries, and he became interested in studying China. He thinks that "if you want to understand Asia, you must first understand China". It was driven by this idea that he set up Blue Bridge Consulting Company after returning to the United States. In recent years, the company has introduced many enterprises from the west coast of the United States to China. At present, he is taking an American customer to attend the Canton Fair. David said that he believes that the biggest obstacle to the further development of US-China relations at present is that Americans know too little about China culture, and many American businessmen he knows have entered the China market "unprepared". He warned: "If you want to succeed in a country, the most important thing is to understand the culture of this country first."

When businessmen set their sights on China, government officials followed suit. 100108, Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa started his Asian tour, and his first stop was China. Villaraigosa has set up a tourist office in Beijing, making LA the only foreign city to set up a similar office in China. He said, "Los Angeles has laid a permanent welcome carpet to welcome millions of China tourists. China tourists will create more employment opportunities for Los Angeles and make the economy of Los Angeles develop healthily. " A municipal official in Los Angeles told the Global Times that China has become the fastest growing overseas tourism market in Los Angeles. In 2004-2005, the number of tourists from China increased by 26% compared with the previous year. Less than a year ago, California Governor Schwarzenegger personally led a 100-member delegation to hold a fiery California product promotion meeting in Beijing. All this conveys a very important message: Faced with the booming economic development prospects of Asian countries such as China in the 2nd/Kloc-0th century, the west coast of the United States benefited from favorable weather, geographical location and human resources, and seized the opportunity in cross-ocean communication.

"He who gets China gets the world."

"No wonder some people say that China people win the world, and I believe it now." 101On October 26th, Angelid, the governor candidate of California Democratic Party, said with emotion when visiting the Chinese community in San Francisco. On August 10, Angelid went to Chinatown to hold a fund-raising meeting, which was packed that day. This time he came again and brought a secret weapon, that is, his daughter Anketing. An Keting studied Chinese at Harvard University, then went to China for further study. Now she studies calligraphy with a senior calligrapher. This time, Anketing followed her father closely. Every time she went to the store, An Keting immediately translated in fluent Mandarin, which surprised many people in China. Ankylid said humorously, "Actually, I am far-sighted. I don't believe my daughter is a good role model. Five years ago, I supported her to learn Chinese and get familiar with China culture, because I believed it would come in handy sooner or later. I sometimes miscalculate. Because of her fluent Mandarin, she made a splash and we all became her supporting roles. "

At present, there are more than 3 million Asians living and working in California, more than half of whom are Chinese. The rapid development of China's economy has influenced and changed the west coast of the United States, especially the improvement and promotion of the status of Chinese groups. When Chinese first came to the United States, most of them were engaged in low-end service industries such as restaurants and laundries. After China's reform and opening up, the number of new immigrants from China who are engaged in high-end industries such as finance, law and medicine is increasing, and their influence on the mainstream society is also expanding.

On the west coast, there are various performances of China literary and art groups all year round: Peking Opera, Kunqu Opera, Huangmei Opera and other China local dramas. Frequent cultural exchanges and the improvement of Chinese status have also changed the attitude of people on the west coast towards China. "Compared with the gathering of senior officials in the eastern United States, such as Washington, full of politicians, boasting and sticking to the rules, the atmosphere in California and the whole western region is more friendly and relaxed." Mr. Su Yang, Vice President of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in the United States, told reporters that on the West Coast, both government officials, business people and financial people are more pragmatic, more open and flexible, and more international in mind and vision. Robert kuhn, a famous American scholar and media person, said in an interview that the east coast is more theoretical, the west coast is more pragmatic, the east is more political and the west is more economical. He believes that manufacturing and labor-intensive industries have a more negative attitude towards China, while high-tech, R&D and higher education industries have a more positive attitude towards China.

Others see China as a challenge.

Not everyone on the west coast of the United States welcomes China's growing influence. "There are more people in China, and our job opportunities will be less." Brett from Seattle said. He didn't want to tell reporters about his occupation, only that China people disturbed their lives. As for how it was disrupted, I didn't elaborate. During the interview, the reporter met several people who had similar ideas with Brett. Their complaints are nothing more than: cheap goods from China, more and more immigrants from China and so on. Apart from the opportunities brought by China, many people on the west coast also feel the challenges brought by China.

The increase in the number of Chinese immigrants has also spawned another problem: the exchange between Chinese and other ethnic groups has decreased. In many parts of California, Chinese can live conveniently without speaking English, which leads to many Chinese living in their own small circles and rarely communicating with other ethnic groups. Coupled with differences in living habits, other ethnic groups have misunderstandings and dissatisfaction with Chinese. Some biased American politicians are also inciting this dissatisfaction. Cultural differences have also led to many contradictions. Some time ago, the so-called "moon cake defense war" in California was a concrete manifestation. Food hygiene managers in the United States still don't understand why moon cakes, zongzi and rice cakes in China can be kept at room temperature for several days or even longer without deterioration. According to American custom, merchants will be punished if they find snacks that have been kept for more than 4 hours. Although, in the end, California Governor Schwarzenegger signed the "Moon Cake Act" to respect China's food culture. But it is conceivable that similar cultural collision and integration will definitely happen in the future.

Tang Yi, director of the US-China Economic and Trade Relations Development Association, said in an interview with the Global Times that although the trade between China and the west coast of the United States is getting closer and closer, China is still in the stage of "working for the people", and many export-oriented enterprises are mainly engaged in primary processing with low technology content. But experts are still full of confidence in the Pacific century. Robert kuhn said: "Once the economies of Asian countries with large populations accelerate, it will naturally have a strong impact on the world. 2 1 century is more like the Asian century, because Asia was once too backward, and now Asia is catching up and regaining its due position in the world. This is a huge historical revival, especially for China. " ▲