Chen Hao (left), Party chief of Huzhou, meets Li Junhua, under-secretary-general for economic and social affairs of the United Nations. [Photo/WeChat account: huzhoufabu]

A delegation headed by Chen Hao, Party chief of Huzhou, embarked on a visit to the United States and Japan from June 19 to 28 with the aim of fostering closer economic and trade ties with the two nations.

During their visit to the US, Chen Hao had a meeting with Li Junhua, under-secretary-general for economic and social affairs of the United Nations. They discussed the acceleration of the substantive operation of the UN Global Geographic Information Knowledge and Innovation Center, which was established in Huzhou's Deqing county in May 2022.

The delegation also visited companies like General Electric, Healgen Scientific, and Innovusion to explore opportunities to expand cooperation with them and attended a conference held in San Francisco aimed at boosting economic and trade links between Huzhou and the bay area.

The companies visited by the delegation have already established a business presence in Huzhou. For instance, Zhejiang Anli Energy Co Ltd, the first sodium-salt battery project in China, was a joint-venture by General Electric and Huzhou-based Chilwee Group started in May 2017.

In addition, a new production base funded by Innovusion, a Silicon Valley-based radar system manufacturer, is currently being constructed in Deqing. Also, Healgen Scientific, based in Houston, is wholly owned by Zhejiang Oriental Gene Biological Products Co Ltd from Huzhou.

In Japan, the delegation visited Nippon Kayaku Co Ltd, which is mulling expanding the scale of its production base for security equipment in Huzhou's Changxing county.

The delegation also attended a photography exhibition entitled "Impressions of Huzhou" that kicked off at the Chinese Cultural Center in Tokyo.