The Commerce Department on Wednesday announced the companies selected to make the Nov. 13-17 trip to Beijing and Shanghai in search of sales opportunities and possible partnerships with Chinese companies.
Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, who will lead the mission, said the companies chosen for the trip represent a cross-section of American companies that are seeking to do business in China.
He said the companies were chosen to highlight various issues U.S. companies face in trying to crack the Chinese market.
We wanted to get companies that would help us in some of our key areas of focus such as intellectual property rights, market access and direct sales," Gutierrez said in an interview with the Associated Press.
The trade mission is the latest effort to combat a soaring U.S. trade deficit with China, which last year hit an all-time high of $202 billion (161 billion) and is on track to set a new record this year.
Even with the sizable gap, China currently represents America's fourth-largest export market and one of the fastest growing. U.S. exports last year totaled $41.8 billion (33.3 billion), an increase of 20.5 percent from the previous year. This year, exports have been running 35.7 percent above last year's pace.
"Huge opportunities exist in China, but so do some major challenges," Gutierrez said. "This trip is designed to help U.S. companies to identify the opportunities and address the challenges."
The delegation is scheduled to meet with key government officials, business leaders and potential business partners during the talks.
Among the companies selected for the trip were pharmaceutical manufacturer Eli Lilly and Co., the telecommunications company Lucent Technologies and power plant builder Westinghouse Electric Co.
Other companies were Altec Inc., Alticor Inc., American Tours International, Aon Corp., ArrayComm Inc., Baxter Healthcare Corp., Behlen Manufacturing Co., Eaton Corp., Energy Conversion Devices Inc., Leo A. Daly engineering firm, McGraw-Hill Companies Inc., MeadWestvaco Corp., Medtronic Inc., Oshkosh Truck Corp., the Shaw Group Inc., Studios Architecture, Sybase Inc., ThermoEnergy Corp., the Timken Co., Tyco Telecommunications and VeriSign Inc.
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