California companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, are being encouraged to expand their exports to China, the world's second-largest consumer market, and to take advantage of the opportunity provided by China's first import expo in Shanghai to do just that."It's a wonderful opportunity for businesses in the Los Angeles area - actually businesses all over the United States - to sell their products and services to the Chinese people," said Gary Toebben, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.The chamber and the China International Import Expo Bureau co-hosted a promotional event in Los Angeles on Friday highlighting the business opportunities available to California companies.Toebben said China is California's largest trading partner, and their commerce accounts for one-third of the trade volume between China and the US.The expo, slated for Nov 5-10 in Shanghai, is expected to attract 150,000 professional purchasers from around the world. So far, more than 60 countries and companies from more than 100 countries have confirmed they will attend the expo, according to the expo bureau."It's the world's first expo that is solely focused on imports at a national level," said Xiadiya Abulahaiti, deputy director-general of the department of American and Oceanian Affairs at China's Ministry of Commerce, at the California promotion."We welcome products with advantages, special characteristics and competitiveness to enter the vast market of China," she said.China recorded $4.1 trillion in imports and exports in 2017. The imports alone are expected to reach $10 trillion in five years, according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.She said that China sees California as an important partner in many areas."China and California have established the China-California Joint Working Group to bolster trade and investment ties. California has always been on the front line of promoting bilateral trade," she said.The expo presents opportunities - for small-and medium-sized companies in particular - as resources of the entire country will be available in a single location, said Brian Peck, chairman of the Los Angeles Regional Export Council.During the promotional event, a contract was signed under which the council will work as the official representative of the expo bureau to invite California companies to attend.Peck said the council will lead a delegation of California companies in the high-tech, food and agriculture sectors to the expo.A letter of intent was also signed between the expo bureau and Align Aerospace LLC. The company will help California companies reserve booths at the expo."The bilateral trade and two-way investment have not only helped China's development, but also brought tangible benefits to the American people. The inexpensive quality products from China help American families bring down their living costs," said Zhang Ping, Chinese consul general in Los Angeles."China pays great attention to the trade imbalance between China and the US and has made great efforts to address this issue," Zhang said.The expo, he said, represents China's sincere desire to open its market to the world and promote more balanced development of China's external trade, and it shows China's commitment in undertaking the responsibility of pushing forward global economic growth. custom bar braceletcustom sports braceletscustom logo wristbandsde securite pour personne ageeembossed wristbandscolorfilled wristbandsembossed printed wristbandsdual layer wristbands
The world's first comprehensive assessment of land health, released last week, should prompt global leaders and residents alike to take concerted action to address the "critical" condition of land degradation.The report, the result of a three-year assessment by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, deserves special attention in the age of social media era, where celebrity gossip and political scandals often steal the spotlight from real issues.The intergovernmental platform, a global scientific group with 129 members including China, brought together more than 100 scientists to prepare the assessment for "better-informed policy making".China, which suffers from land degradation, is going all out to reverse the damaging trend as it rams up building an "ecological civilization".In its latest move, approved by the top legislature last month, China has set up a State Administration of Forestry and Grassland to strengthen the protection of forests, grasslands, wetlands and wild life.One of the most unnerving findings of the report is that land decay, caused by unsustainable farming, mining, pollution, and urbanization, threatens to increase mass human migration to larger swathes of areas, raising the chances of conflicts.Land degradation is already affecting the well-being of 40 percent of the global population, and in just over three decades, an estimated 4 billion people will be forced to live in arid areas, the report said."By then it is likely that land degradation, together with the closely related problems of climate change, will have forced 50 million to 700 million people to migrate," said Robert Scholes, an ecologist from South Africa and co-chair of the assessment.Declining land productivity also makes societies more vulnerable to social instability - particularly in aid areas, where "years with extremely low rainfall have been associated with an increase of up to 45 percent in violent conflict," Scholes said.Land degradation exposes more people to hazardous air, water and land pollution, particularly in developing countries. But despite the "critical" land degradation, there is a widespread lack of awareness of the problem, as many of those who benefit from overexploitation of natural resources are among the least affected by the direct negative impacts of land degradation, the intergovernmental platform report said. They therefore have the least incentive to take action.Action, however, is not only urgent, but will also be cost-effective if taken early. On average, the benefits of restoration, such as higher employment, are 10 times higher than the costs. For regions like Asia and Africa, the cost of inaction will be at least three times higher than the cost of immediate action.China is among at least 112 countries that agreed by last September to make the UN Sustainable Development Goal of achieving land degradation neutrality by 2030 a national target for action, said a release from the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.The report also gives proven ways to stop and reverse land degradation. It urges governments, the private sector, international organizations and individuals all to play a part. For example, it identifies the high-consumption lifestyles in the most developed economies, combined with rising consumption in developing and emerging economies, as the underlying drivers of land degradation.
