2025 China-California Business Forum Held in Los Angeles, Deepening Local Economic Ties
Los Angeles, June 3, 2025 (LAPost) — The 2025 China-California Business Forum convened on June 2 at the historic Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, drawing nearly 500 government and business representatives from China and the United States. The forum aimed to strengthen economic and cultural exchanges between China’s provinces and California—the most populous and economically powerful U.S. state.
Hosted by the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles, with support from the Bay Area Council and the World Trade Center Los Angeles, the forum serves as a key platform for promoting practical cooperation in trade and investment under the framework of the “Joint Working Group on Trade and Investment Cooperation between Chinese Provinces and California.”
This year’s guest province, Fujian, showcased its achievements and potential for further collaboration. In his keynote speech, Fujian Vice Governor Wang Jinfu highlighted the historical ties between Fujian and California, referencing the long-standing “Kuling Friendship.” He proposed three areas for deeper cooperation: enhancing trade connectivity, expanding mutually beneficial collaboration, promoting joint efforts in green and low-carbon development, and strengthening people-to-people exchanges.
Chinese Consul General Guo Shaochun emphasized that despite the challenges in U.S.-China relations, California has remained a front-runner in bilateral economic collaboration. China has been California’s largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years. In 2023, California’s service exports to China reached $8.8 billion, and merchandise exports totaled $15.1 billion—making China California’s third-largest goods export market.
Guo noted that around 40% of U.S.-China cargo trade flows through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs. Additionally, over 50,000 Chinese students studying in California contribute significantly to the state’s education and economy. He added that China has fully lifted restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector and is steadily opening up areas such as the internet, culture, telecommunications, medical services, and education.
California Secretary of Transportation Toks Omishakin underscored the importance of green shipping and zero-emission technology development. He pointed to the joint efforts between the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Shanghai to build a “Green Shipping Corridor,” which will begin deploying low- and zero-carbon vessels by 2025. Omishakin also acknowledged China’s progress in LNG and green methanol fuel technologies and called for more cooperation in green development.
Dilpreet Sidhu, Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles, highlighted the city’s robust exchanges with China in trade, tourism, climate change, education, and sports, expressing a strong desire to further these partnerships.
Other speakers included Jim Wunderman, President and CEO of the Bay Area Council, and leaders from the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, who echoed the importance of maintaining trust and finding new opportunities amid current geopolitical challenges.
The forum included a variety of events: a plenary session on bilateral trade and investment under new circumstances, thematic subforums on climate cooperation and agrifood trade, a China-California joint working group meeting, business matchmaking sessions, signing ceremonies for cooperation projects, and a Fujian tea art demonstration.
Since its launch in 2016, the China-California Business Forum has been held seven times and has facilitated discussions on clean tech, e-commerce, agriculture, infrastructure, and innovation, attracting over 2,600 attendees from both sides. （By: Richard Ren/LAPost)
