Mission Statement

U.S. Microelectronics Trade Mission
to Shanghai and Suzhou, China
March 15-19, 2004

Mission Description

The U.S. Department of Commerce/International Trade Administration's (DOC/ITA) Office of Microelectronics, Medical Equipment, and Instrumentation (OMMI) is organizing a microelectronics trade mission to China, March 15-19, 2004. This trade mission will center around the widely acclaimed Shanghai exhibition electronicChina 2004 in conjunction with SEMICON China. Centering the mission around a major trade fair will allow participating firms to have pre-arranged individual meetings scheduled for them by the Commercial Service (CS) Post in Shanghai, as well as an opportunity to make additional business contacts at the exhibition. The second mission stop will be Suzhou, which is a high-technology city about a one hour bus ride from Shanghai. A similar microelectronics mission took place in March 2003.

Trade mission participants will include representatives from U.S. firms specializing in microelectronics design, manufacturing, and distribution, including semiconductor devices, integrated circuits design services, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, clean room equipment, and electronics packaging/interconnects. The mission will be led by DOC's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Information Technology Industries Michelle O'Neill.

Commercial Setting

Microelectronics design, manufacturing and distribution is the foundation for the rapid growth of e-commerce, web-enabled technologies, and wireless technologies that will be the hot business prospects in the 21st century in Asia. The Chinese Government is strongly committed to the development of a domestic microelectronics industry to enable the adoption of IT nationwide and to improve economic productivity. China's tenth Five-Year Plan (2001-2005) addresses the development of the country's information industry (including microelectronics). The country's electronics sector and IT industry are expected to grow at an annual rate of 20 percent. These development trends indicate that China is emerging as a new production base for electronic and IT products in Asia. This rapid growth in the IT sector has forced China to build its strong microelectronics industry primarily through imports and investment from foreign suppliers. Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong are among the cities that lead China's IT industry growth.

Mission Goals

To assist U.S. microelectronics industry's small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in attaining their export business goals in the China market through participation in this trade mission, which will be centered around a major exhibition.

Mission Scenario

The mission will focus primarily on Shanghai, with a one-day trip to Suzhou. The schedule includes site visits, and U.S. and China government briefings. The purpose of the site visits will be to show a larger vision of the Chinese electronics/semiconductor industry, which will help the delegation to better understand the Chinese market. China government briefings would bring the participants into the government's presence, and they will be informed of the trade opportunities available to them from the Chinese government's perspective. A SEMICON forum, which all of the delegates will be invited to attend, will be added to the schedule once the date is established. The dates of the trade exhibition are March 17-19. On March 17 and 18 mission participants will have their pre-arranged individual meetings, and also have the opportunity to conduct business with exhibitors at the show, as well as display company posters and literature in a booth at the exhibition. No other types of exhibition items may be displayed. A hospitality reception for the delegation will be held the evening of March 18.

Timetable

Saturday, March 13 Arrive Shanghai (optional); activities open
Sunday, March 14 Arrive Shanghai (optional); activities open
Monday, March 15 Breakfast briefing with Shanghai CS staff
ZhangJiang High-Tech Park
Applied Materials
Lunch
Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation
Lam Research/Novellus
Intel (WaiGaoQiao)
Tuesday, March 16 JinQiao Industrial Export Processing Zone
Tektronix
Lunch
Shanghai Informatization Office
Booth Setup at SEMICON
Wednesday, March 17 Individual one-on-one meetings
Lunch
Individual one-on-one meetings
Make additional business contacts at the exhibition
Thursday, March 18 Individual one-on-one meetings
Lunch
Individual one-on-one meetings
Make additional business contacts at the exhibition

Friday, March 19

 Morning bus trip from Shanghai to Suzhou
Suzhou Industrial Park orientation
AMD (Suzhou) Ltd.
Lunch
Andrew Telecommunications (China) Co.
Solectron (Suzhou) Technology
Evening trip from Suzhou to Shanghai; booth cleanup
Saturday, March 20 Delegation will depart for the United States

 

Recruitment will begin immediately, and will close on January 31, 2004. Applications received after that date will be considered only if space and scheduling constraints permit.

Criteria for Participant's Selection

A company's products or services must be either produced in the United States or, if not, marketed under the name of a U.S. firm and have at least 51 percent U.S. content of the value of the finished product or service.

A minimum of 8 and a maximum of 20 participating companies will be recruited in an open and public manner, including publication in the Federal Register; posting on the Internet; press releases to the general and trade media; direct mail and broadcast fax; and notices by industry trade associations and other multiplier groups, and at industry meetings, symposiums, conferences, and trade shows. Any partisan political activities (including political contributions) of an applicant are entirely irrelevant to the selection process.

Contact

Ms. Marlene Ruffin
Microelectronics Industry Sector, ITA/ITI/TD/OMMI, Room 1015
U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C. 20230
Phone: (202) 482-0570; Fax: (202) 482-0975; e-mail: marlene_ruffin@ita.doc.gov