CAST President Lisa Cheng and Elizabeth Goryunova, COO WTCU
The Chinese Association of Science and Technology, Utah Chapter (CAST-UT) held its annual conference in Salt Lake City, UT on Saturday January 16.
The delegates were welcomed by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary for the People’s Republic of China to the United States, His Excellency Zhou Wenzhong. In his address, the Ambassador reflected upon the importance of “promoting collaboration in Science, Technology and International Business between the U.S. and China.” CAST, according to the Ambassador “has devoted itself to promoting unity, exchange and collaboration among Chinese scholars and professionals in the United States. It has initiated various programs to promote traditional Chinese culture and has done a great and commendable job in strengthening the cooperation between China and the United States in the area of science, technology, culture and education.”
The conference offered panel discussions on investment and business opportunities between the U.S. and China, where Utah and China business leaders shared their experience and thoughts on a variety of current opportunities and best practices. The panel included Dongyu Li, Vice Mayor, Wanning City in Hainan Province, China; Brett Heimburger, Regional Director, Governors Office of Economic Development, Randy Kirton, Chairman, Avalon Healthcare, Inc. and Brian McAdam, CEO, Pangaea Group, Inc.
Advisory board certificates awarded.
A panel was also offered on Research and Development in Science and Technology, where research and higher education professionals shared their ideas on the most relevant and current developments in science and technology that have potential for commercialization. The panel included Jeff Botkin, Associate Vice President for Research and Eric Eddings, Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Utah; Utah State Senator Brent Goodfellow; Kent Millington, CEO, 13 Technologies, LLC., and Kreg Peeler, President/Founder, SpinGo, LLC. When asked to give a final recommendation for those looking into doing business or research collaboration in China, panel members were advised to conduct due diligence on the regulatory environment prior to making their investment, as well as to look at both sides of trade: exports and imports. Renewable and green energy was mentioned as the opportunity of the future. It has been pointed out that innovation lies in the foundation of progress and that in order to understand the future of science and observe consumer trends, one should frequently visit college campuses in China and in the United States.
The conference exhibition also offered information on tourism, investment and business opportunities in the Hainan Province of China.
Bryan Davis giving his keynote address.
Lew Cramer, President and CEO of the World Trade Center Utah; Tang Songgen, Vice Consul General of the Chinese Embassy; David Clark, Speaker of the Utah State House of Representatives; Peter Corroon, Mayor of Salt Lake County; Brett Heimburger, Regional Director, GOED and Dr. Woody Fang, President of WTF Foundation shared their remarks on the fast-changing economic environment in China, the importance of China for Utah as one of its top trade partners and many connections between the two regions of the world.
The conference concluded with a keynote address delivered by Bryan Davis, Founder and Board Member of XanGo, LLC.
