Columbia, SC — The South Carolina Department of Commerce’s state office in Shanghai, China was recognized as one of three foreign economic development and investment agencies for efforts in assisting Chinese companies in investing abroad. South Carolina’s state office in Shanghai was recognized at the 2007 “Chinese Enterprises Going Global” National Contribution Award Appraisal event held on Saturday, April 19 in Beijing. South Carolina was both the only U.S. and only regional organization to win the award. The other two winners were the federal organizations of Sweden and Australia.
“The state’s office in Shanghai has proven that South Carolina is a competitive location for attracting investment and for that I’d give real credit to John Ling and the team at Commerce,” said Gov. Mark Sanford. “From day one, this administration has been committed to improving the state’s economic soil conditions to encourage business growth and job creation and this recognition is another sign that those efforts are paying dividends. Our work to cultivate relationships within China will have a lasting impact on our state in terms of job creation, foreign direct investment, and export opportunities for South Carolina businesses.”
Gov. Sanford officially opened South Carolina’s Shanghai office in October 2005. South Carolina’s China office is primarily focused on recruiting Chinese investment to South Carolina and also assists South Carolina companies looking for export opportunities in China.
John Ling is the Director of South Carolina’s state office in Shanghai. Ling is a Chinese native and graduated from the Foreign Affairs Institute of Sichuan University in Chongqing, China. He went on to study in Charleston, South Carolina where he obtained a MBA from Charleston Southern University. After graduating, Ling worked as Managing Director for a U.S./China joint venture, Metallic Building Systems (Asia), Inc. He then worked at the Department of Commerce in Columbia as the Asia-Pacific International Trade Manager where his primary role involved helping South Carolina companies find export markets in the Asia-Pacific. He moved to Shanghai in 2005 to open South Carolina’s first office in China.
China-affiliated and owned companies employ more than 1,400 individuals in South Carolina. China was South Carolina’s fifth largest export market in 2007 with more than $623 million in goods sold to the country.
via SCC
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