| Spano to Host
Live, Vidoe Teleconference from Trade Fair in Xiamen, China Internet links Westchester businesses with Chinese counterparts for exploration
of business opportunities
(Xiamen City, Fujian Province, P.R.C.) – From the
Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza hotel in Xiamen, China, Westchester County Executive Andy Spano
will host a live, video teleconference on Monday, September 7, linking nine, small and
mid-sized Westchester businesses with Chinese counterparts in an informal exchange of
ideas in what is hoped to be the first of many business opportunity discussions between
the county and the world’s largest nation.
The one and one-half hour teleconference beginning at 9:30
EDT Monday evening in New York (Tuesday morning, in Xiamen) will allow Westchester
businesses to speak directly with industry counterparts attending the Second China Fair
for International Investment and Trade in Xiamen.
"Business in China is conducted on a personal level,
and this video teleconference will allow small and mid-sized businesses from Westchester
County to make initial, one-on-one contact with businesses in China. This is an important
first step for those companies that cannot make these connections on their own,"
Spano said.
The teleconference will take place in the Pace University
Graduate Center’s video center, 1 Martine Avenue in White Plains.
"We are delighted to be able to facilitate this
teleconference using our state of the art technology," said Pace University President
Patricia O. Ewers. "Chinese students compose the third largest segment of the
international student body attending Pace University, so our participation in this
conference is particularly appropriate. Also, we are happy to have one of our graduate
students, Charles Zhang, provide interpretation for the video conference taking place on
our campus."
Pace’s Executive Vice President for Finance and
Administration, Leonard C. Sippel, will host the business panel from White Plains.
One of the participating businesses in the teleconference
is Cronin Industries of Elmsford, manufacturers of packages and displays for corporations
worldwide, with sales of $12 million annually.
"My first reaction was, ‘Wow.’ This is
exactly what Westchester business people need to expand their business base," said
President Garrett Cronin. "Our county government is on target to grow our business
into the 21st Century," he added.
Ken Laudon of Azimuth Multimedia Productions in Peekskill,
a $1 million per year electronic digital publisher of higher education and commercial
products, who is also participating in the teleconference said:
"I am looking forward to introducing my company and
its products to government and business leaders in China. We are a small firm that cannot
make these connections on our own – it’s too complicated. We are anxious to
piggyback on the County’s trade mission and establish initial contacts at a high
level. This is a trade mission for the small guys."
The nine Westchester businesses represent the architecture,
engineering, travel, manufacturing, packaging, communications, and electronics industries (list of businesses).
The video teleconference is a highlight of County Executive
Spano’s 12-day trade mission to six cities within the People’s Republic of
China. The mission will begin on September 6 in Shanghai, and will also visit the cities
of Xiamen, Wuhan, Jingzhou, Beijing and Hong Kong. The mission concludes in Hong Kong on
September 16.
Bell Atlantic will provide technical assistance for the
Internet hookups for the White Plains video transmission, and PictureTel will provide both
equipment and technical assistance for the Xiamen link.
CONTACT: Susan Tolchin (914) 285-2932
Terence Kelly (914) 285-2935
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 3, 1998
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