Last Thursday Craig Kinzer, Adam Brenneman, Kelley Sigl, and Kevin Cao attended the Washington State China Council (WSCRC) 36th Annual Dinner Banquet. They were joined at their table by Jeffrey Utterback, Director of Real Estate and Economic Development, and Dave McFadden, Managing Director – Economic Development Division, of the Port of Seattle, and Zheng Lin of ZTE USA . We asked Kevin to give us his thoughts on the Banquet:
The WSCRC Banquet is one of the most important China-focused events in the Seattle area. It is attended by individuals and companies conducting business & cultural exchange activities between China and the U.S.
As an innovative and pioneering commercial real estate firm, Kinzer has been paying close attention to the influx of Asian buyers coming to Seattle in the past two years, mostly from China. Tracking how Chinese companies are doing in Seattle and learning how the current Chinese economy would affect the CRE investment activities here could benefit Kinzer in 2016.
Seattle and the State of Washington played a crucial role in U.S.-China relations in 2015. Seattle was chosen as the first stop of President Xi’s state visit last September, and it has become one of the top 5 destinations for Chinese tourists coming to the U.S. Looking forward, Seattle will continue seeing strong inbound investments from China.
Speaker Dr. Cheng Li from the Brookings Institution said that although the Chinese economy is currently experiencing a down-turn, it is still relatively optimistic in the long run as economic reforms have been gradually taking hold. While it is reasonable to be concerned about the uncertainty of the status quo of the 2nd biggest economy in the world, we should be confident about its long-term development. All the challenges we are seeing today are inevitable for a transforming economy. A healthier Chinese economy after the structural reform will benefit the U.S. and the world going forward.”
Congratulations to Stanley H. Barer, Of Counsel at Garvey Schubert Barer (GSB) who received the 2016 WSCRC Lifetime Award Monday evening.
Speakers included:
- Dr. Cheng Li, Director of the John L. Thornton China Center at The Brookings Institution
- Dow Constantine, King County Executive
- Gary Locke, U.S. Ambassador to China 2011-2014, U.S. Secretary of Commerce 2009-2011, and Governor of Washington State 1997-2005 (the first Chinese American to be elected governor in the United States history, and the first Asian American governor on the mainland)
- Lebin Wu, Chairman, Chinese Academy of Sciences Holdings Co.
