Chinese Trade Delegates Meet With Local Companies at Murrieta City Hall

The City of Murrieta’s new International Business Center welcomed a delegation of business and governmental leaders from Shaoxing County, Zhejiang Province, China, to Murrieta City Hall on Thursday.

The delegation consisted of 12 representatives from industrial companies located in Shaoxing County as well as the Shaoxing County Bureau of Commerce. Companies included high-level representatives of manufacturing, banking and scientific firms, said Bruce Coleman, economic development director for the City of Murrieta, in a news release.

Local companies to were invited to meet with the delegation.

"The event created a forum for local companies to discuss opportunities for producing products for sale to China, with the objective of growing their businesses locally by creating export markets abroad," Coleman said.

Anthony Capone, president of Nimbus Water in Murrieta, gave a presentation to the group, as did ERGO Biofuels.

Nimbus Water is created reverse osmosis/water filtration equipment and is already an exporter of products to many countries, Coleman said. EGRO Biofuels has created mobile self contained waste free biodiesel processors. Both are cleantech/greentech companies, he said.

According to Coleman, Murrieta was the only city in the southwest Riverside County area to host the high-level delegation. The delegation also conducted a business meeting in San Diego.

The International Business Center was recently created by City Council and is an extension of the City's Economic Development Department.

"While the IBC is housed at Murrieta City Hall, it is intended to promote international business development for Southwest Riverside County and Inland Southern California," Coleman said.

The City’s objective is to promote international trade by assisting local businesses in expanding the market for their products and services, with the ultimate goal of helping businesses grow and create more jobs locally, he said.

"The City of Murrieta regularly welcomes international visitors so as to encourage international trade and investment in the Murrieta area," Coleman said.

The City has already seen the early results of these efforts, he said, which have led to the first EB-5 international investment in the area--a $14 million international investment in the development of the Olivewood mixed-use project across from Murrieta Town Square.

Murrieta was the only city invited to make a presentation at the recent U.S. China Business Summit held at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles.

Thursday's visit was coordinated through the International Business Association (IBA), headed up by Uwe Janssen, and the U.S. Department of Commerce/International Trade Administration, represented by Regional Director Fred Latuperissa.