Dear Valued WTC Anchorage Members and Friends of the Center:

It only happens once a year, and this year it happened on Wednesday, September 27th: WTC Anchorage’s annual Alaska-China Business Conference. This unique annual gathering of private sector executives and government officials, from both Alaska and China, is the only event in Alaska that focuses on the very significant commercial ties that the Great Land shares with the Middle Kingdom. China, as most of you know, is Alaska’s largest export market and shipments from Alaska to China range from $1.2 to $1.5 billion each year. China has been the state’s largest overseas customer since 2011. Typically, China is the largest buyer of virtually of all of our major export categories, including seafood, metals and minerals, and forest products.

This year’s event operated around the theme of “Celebrating Two Decades of Growth and Prosperity.” It featured five speakers from China and five Alaskan counterparts. The Chinese government sent a six-member delegation of officials to Anchorage to participate. Their delegation was led by Mr. Zhang Jianmin, China’s Consul General in San Francisco. His delegation members are primarily involved with commercial matters and they sought to meet with Alaskan companies to better understand our export capabilities, and to connect our companies with companies in China involved with importing.

Pictured: Mr. Zhang Jianmin, China's Consul General in San Francisco, makes keynote remarks at WTCANC's 17th Annual Alaska-China Business Conference, conducted September 27th in Anchorage. Zhang led a delegation of 6 government officials to Anchorage to participate in the event. In addition, 4 Chinese private sector companies were featured speakers at the Conference.

It was a successful, well-attended event, and we are already making plans for the 2024 edition of this event!

At the conference, we announced two upcoming trade missions to China in 2024. In September, we will once again lead a group of Alaskan businesses to the city of Xiamen, located in Southeast China, for the annual China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT). Then, in November, we head to Shanghai to participate and promote the goods and services offered by our WTCANC member companies. We will have a booth, and take part in the China International Import and Export Expo (CIIE). Both of these trade and investment gatherings are among the largest and most important in the world. In other words, a lot of business takes place for those who participate!

Finally, we also announced that WTC Anchorage has partnered with the blue-ribbon National Committee of U.S.-China Relations to include Anchorage in their annual virtual China Town Hall that takes place next month on October 11, 2023. This year, the keynote presenter will be the American Ambassador to China, Mr. Nicholas Burns.

CHINA Town Hall 2023 Will Stream Here

on Wed, October 11, at 7:00PM ET (3:00PM AKST)

As a special benefit for our members and friends, we have arranged for a co-host of our Town Hall---just for Alaska: Our co-host, exclusively for our Alaskan viewers will by Mr. Kenneth Jarrett. He is a very experienced “China Hand” and will bring his experience, knowledge, and contacts to bear when he joins us on the 11th. By way of a quick background, Mr. Jarrett served 26 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, mainly in Greater China, including stints as America’s Deputy Consul General in Hong Kong and Consul General in Shanghai. Additionally, he served as Director of Asian Affairs at the White House National Security Council. Since retirement from the Foreign Service, he has had a number of positions with leading think tank advisories and universities. He also served as president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. Keep a watch on your inbox for more Town Hall details and how to sign up.

If your company or organization has an interest in either expanding your current business with China, or if you would like to get started doing business with Alaska’s number one trading partner, please contact us, become a member of WTCANC, and put us to work helping you achieve your international goals.

To your global success!

Greg Wolf

Executive Director

World Trade Center Anchorage (Alaska)

Email: greg@wtcak.org

Mobile/Text: (907) 230-7268

• November: Tech Forward Alaska. (Date TBD) WTCANC’s annual event to highlight and celebrate successful local tech companies.

• December: Alaska Infrastructure Development Luncheon. (Date TBD) WTCANC’s annual event focused on current and future Infrastructure projects across Alaska.

• January (2024): Alaska Industry Pioneers: The Fireside Chats. (Date TBD) This will be the inaugural edition of this event. We anticipate featuring Alaskan pioneers in the telecom sector.