Chinese manufacturing offshoring creates win-win situation

WASHINGTON -- Chinese manufacturers that set up factories in the United States could help create local jobs and win-win situation for the world's two largest economies, two US mayors said on Wednesday.

The genuine dialogue of doing business between the United States and China "has to happen on the local level," Sheldon Day, mayor of Thomasville City, Alabama, said at a manufacturing symposium held in Washington D.C.

When a Chinese company selects a location for its factories in the United States, it will choose a community either in a small town or a big city. Local leaders in both countries should start their conversations early to help Chinese entrepreneurs do business in US communities, Day said at the event co-hosted by Beijing-based Asian Manufacturing Association and SoZo Group, an investment consulting firm.

Despite the language and culture differences, the two nations both want to do business with each other and work together to create mutual benefits for the countries and citizens, Day told a group of experts and reporters.

After the onset of the financial crisis, Sony Corp closed a plant in Dothan City, Alabama. "We need jobs and we need investments in our community and we are looking forward to working with Chinese companies," Mike Schmitz, mayor of Dothan, said at the event.

Schmitz said the city has a great workforce that would be proud to work with Chinese companies, and it's business-friendly with low taxes and good infrastructure. There are some successful manufacturing businesses in the city, and it intends to expand its manufacturing sector, Schmitz told Xinhua on the sidelines of the event.

In the world's largest economy, cash-strapped cities and towns are endeavoring to attract foreign investments that can bring jobs and increase local government revenues, as the national unemployment rate still hovers at 7.6 percent.

Experts said in past years, more Chinese manufacturers have been establishing their factories in the United States to stay close to their customers and save on transportation and energy costs.