Leaders take part in ‘Boao Forum for Asia’

Global Business

More than 300 business leaders and government officials, from all over the world, took part in the first ever North American-hosted ‘Boao Forum for Asia’ over the weekend. CCTV’s Chris Casquejo reports.

Boeing jetliners are the big-money items China buys from Washington State. But it’s not just airplanes. A Washington Council on International Trade 2012 study found exports from ‘The Evergreen State’ to China were up a whopping 230 percent since 2004. Top leaders believe that number could go even higher.

The study also found 40 percent of Washington state’s 2.8 million jobs were linked to international trade and the state’s shipping ports and transportation hubs.

The state’s top leader wants to make it clear, that while Washington welcomes the products coming in, it wants direct foreign investment from China, too. However, money isn’t the only thing that matters. As this gathering of industry and government leaders at the Boao Forum comes to a close, some here believe lowering trade barriers, between the two countries, can help solve some of the world’s biggest issues.

Former Microsoft executive Edward Jung is one of the founders of Intellectual Ventures, a top-five holder of U.S. patents

Part of the message officials here want to reinforce is that by calling for more cooperation across the Pacific, both through business and government, the entire globe can benefit.