The US government will officially open a service center in Shanghai next month to help its companies fully tap the might of the domestic manufacturing industry.
The Shanghai center of Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT) is currently being planned. It is scheduled to start operation on October 28, said Grant Aldonas, undersecretary of the United States Department of Commerce, at a press conference yesterday. AMT is a government-funded industry organization. A total of 385 manufacturers, accounting for more than 85 percent of the production value of the American manufacturing industry, are AMT members.
"Shanghai has become the international center of the manufacturing industry. That's why we located the AMT Shanghai Technology & Service Center in the city," he said.
"China is the fastest growing market for manufacturers, service providers and small- and medium-sized enterprises for our country," he noted.
The association's Shanghai Technology & Service Center will be the second such center in the world, according to the center's General Manager Harry Xiao.
The center, located at Waigaoqiao area in Pudong, will be used to display US manufacturers' technology. American companies could also set up offices in the center.
Aldonas said AMT established its first service center in Mexico and a third is expected to be set up in Europe.
Xiao said, at present, the center had brought about 30 companies to China. It wants to develop the number to about 50.
Although the center has yet to open, so far, the 30 manufacturers have realized sales worth US$2.5 million, he revealed.
"In the first year, the US government funded the center with US$500,000," Xiao said.
"We hope to help more small- and medium-sized American manufacturers obtain access to China's market."