Poly Group plans US expansion

Firm to scout for trade, investment opportunities in overseas markets

Beijing-headquartered conglomerate China Poly Group Corp said that it would continue to pursue trade and investment opportunities in the United States, particularly in cultural sector and residential housing market.

Xu Niansha, chairman of China Poly Group Corp, told China Daily that he was confident that China and the US would resolve their trade disputes through negotiation and consultation.

The US market is an integral part of the company's global business footprint, he said upon the US President Donald Trump's visit to China, together with the delegation of top US business executives.

Trump's visit will deepen mutual understanding and bridge the gaps between the world's two largest economies and lay a solid foundation for future cooperation, he said.

"China and US trade cooperation is essential for bilateral relations and hence mutually beneficial. We hope the two countries will continue on a path of cooperation considering China and the US are now each other's major trading partner," he said.

Despite disputes and frictions, China-US economic and trade cooperation has expanded steadily and generated huge benefits for people of both sides, with bilateral trade rising 13.7 percent year-on-year to $422.64 billion during the first nine months of this year.

China is currently the largest trade partner of the US, while the US is China's second largest. Bilateral trade surged to $519.6 billion in 2016 from $2.5 billion in 1979 when the two countries established diplomatic ties.

According to Xiao Lian, director of the Centre for US Economic Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Trump's visit will help China and the US to deepen cooperation and bilateral understanding. Economic and trade cooperation between the world's two largest economies plays a significant role in global economic and political stability, he said.

China Poly currently has two real estate projects in the US, including one located in the heart of Los Angeles and another in San Francisco. It aims to further expand both residential housing and commercial real estate in the US in the future.

The company has also been pushing forward cooperation in performance and theater management, art business, as well as auctions and cinema investment with the US exporting Chinese cultural products to Western markets, while introducing Western classics to the Chinese market, including the introduction of the Dream of the Red Chamber from San Francisco Opera, film and TV arts cooperation with FilmNation Entertainment and collaboration with Art Institute of Chicago.

"Culture export undertakes the responsibility of cultural communication between different countries and also bears economic significance, helping enhance the soft power of a country," he said.

The corporation, founded in 1992, has extended its business in more than 100 cities worldwide in the fields of international trade, real estate development and cultural and artistic cooperation.

Its business covers two thirds of the economies participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, helping local economies with infrastructure construction and livelihood projects.

Li Jin, deputy head of the China Enterprise Reform and Development Society, said Chinese companies' going global will not only bring advanced manufacturing capacity to the developing countries, but also promote local employment.

The company vows to further boost its international business in both developing and developed countries, which currently accounts for 5 percent of the company's profile.

zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn