July 2019 – Fujian Province, China (Fuzhou, Fuqing, Xiamen)

Why are you there?

Through many years of building a strong relationship with Fuyao Auto Glass, they introduced the Dayton Development Coalition, JobsOhio, and other Dayton Region community partners to the Fujian Province Chamber of Commerce. The Fujian Province Chamber of Commerce is interested to see more Chinese companies become global, especially in the United States. Fuyao’s investment in the Dayton Region paved the way. 

Who did you meet?
Over five days, members of JobsOhio and the Dayton Development Coalition met with 10 new companies and visited Fuyao’s HQ in Fuzhou. The new companies we met represented a wide range of industries from food, automotive parts, electrical wiring, and more.

Top 7 things you learned: 

1. This is the largest migration in history, with 300 million moving to cities already and 350 million more on the way. 
2. The manufacturing base has increased more than 18 –fold in the past 30 years ago and is worth $2.2 trillion annually in value-added.
3. An additional 200 million people will enter the middle class by 2026, joining 300 million who have done so in the past 30 years. 
4. The country has more than $15 trillion in bank deposits, growing by $2 trillion a year. 
5. Spending on education has doubled, and the number of college graduates has increased more than 7-fold since 1998. 
6. Although China has more internet users than any other country, internet penetration is comparatively low.
7. July weather in Southeast China is hot. The Fujian Province is nestled between a mountain range to the west, and Taiwan, to the east causing the temperature to be more than 110 degrees.