Gov. Bill Ritter and a Chinese trade official signed an agreement to promote business investments Thursday as representatives of about 30 Chinese companies scoped out Colorado as a possible location for new offices and plants.
Ritter and Yujing Zhang, who oversees machinery and electronic trade for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, signed the memorandum of cooperation in English and Chinese at the state Capitol as visiting business representatives watched.
“We bring industry leaders here to have a better understanding of Colorado and advance collaboration,” Zhang said through an interpreter.
The companies visiting with Zhang include electronics manufacturers and renewable-energy companies that are exploring locations in the United States to manufacture their products and avoid the growing cost of fuel to ship exports from China.
They planned to visit the federal National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden during their stay and meet with Colorado companies working in the renewable-energy, software, biosciences and medical- equipment fields, said Mike Driver, the state’s Asia trade director.
Colorado, Arizona and California were the three states that had the most potential for the solar-energy industry, said Ma Xin, chairman and chief technology officer for Beijing- based Sincome, which makes solar panels.
The visit to Colorado comes nearly a year after Ritter conducted a trade mission to China and Japan. Two representatives from the state trade office returned in June to again court interest in Colorado.
