BEIJING, CHINA – On July 10th, 2002, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA) awarded two feasibility study grants and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in the People’s Republic of China. Mr. Geoffrey Jackson, TDA’s Regional Director for Asia signed the grants, totaling over $600,000. Mr. Shi Miaomiao, Deputy Director General of the WTO Department of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation; Mr. Luo Bin, Deputy Director General of the National Bureau to Combat Desertification of the State Forestry Administration; and Mr. Feng Huiming, Director of the Training Center of the State Development Planning Commission signed the agreements on behalf of their respective agencies. Dr. Thomas L. Boam, Senior Commercial Officer, US Commercial Service, was present as a witness at the signing ceremony, along with Mr. Denny Barnes, U.S. Deputy Senior Commercial Officer.
The first feasibility study grant, awarded to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, provides $417,000 to establish an E-Learning program in China focused on the World Trade Organization (WTO). The project will use E-learning technology combined with traditional teaching methods to facilitate WTO learning via the Internet, enabling government officials at various levels, entrepreneurs and the general public to have a comprehensive understanding of the WTO and its legal instruments.
The second grant will provide $244,200 to partially fund a feasibility study to examine desertification prevention techniques in Northern and Central China. Working with the Grantee, the National Bureau to Combat Desertification, a unit of the State Forestry Administration, and Velmont, a U.S. contractor with headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska selected to perform the study, will investigate the use of irrigation grazing practices for controlling sandstorm and desertification in areas surrounding Beijing. The demonstration project will allow the U.S. company to display the their “center point irrigation” system, technology unique to the U.S. firm. The U.S. Commercial Service Beijing originally introduced TDA to Velmont, and has worked closesly with them throughout the entire process. With the support of the U.S. Commercial Service, Valmont was able to gain access to the appropriate Chinese Govererment officials from the State Forestry Administration.
TDA also signed an MOU today with the Chinese State Development Planning Commission stating TDA’s intent to provide funding to establish a Natural Gas Training Institute in Beijing that will promote the use and development of natural gas in China. A grant agreement awarding these funds will be signed later this month with the Gas Technology Institute of Des Plaines, Illinois, who, along with the State Development Planning Commission, will be responsible for the operations and development of the Training Institute.
The U.S. Commercial Service is a Commerce Department agency that helps small and medium-sized U.S. businesses sell their products and services globally. The U.S. Commercial Service's network includes 107 U.S. Export Assistance Centers throughout the United States and 161 international offices in 83 countries. In 2001, the U.S. Commercial Service helped U.S. businesses generate export sales worth more than $34 billion. For more information on the U.S. Commercial Service, please visit www.buyusa.gov.
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