Cheung - World Trade Center (Mon)

[Anonymous]

Stephen was a great speaker. I am so happy that he and his mother survived and he became such a knowledgeable and caring individual. This country has many immigrants the have and will contribute to the wellness of America. We all must make our opinions heard about the need to take care of the immigration issues in this country. Our students must be made aware of the fact that they must get involved in the solutions.

[Anonymous]

As Stephen was presenting I thought about the switch to common core and how critical it is to make sure our students can compete to meet the needs of the transitioning work environment. As Stephen mentioned, investors/companies come to L.A. because of the talent pool and labor force that exists in the region. If we can ensure our students our prepared for 21st century jobs than the more attractive the region will be to investors.

On another note, driving through LA its hard not to notice the run down streets and neglected neighborhoods. I find it amazing to hear about the amount of money produced by LA/LA county region (I believe Stephen said it was the 20th largest economy in the world) yet the city of LA has problems with homelessness, promoting affordable housing and maintaining its infrastructure. How is it possible that the city/region can create such wealth yet not provide suitable living environment for its residents? I am sure the answer is complex, much like the concept of trying to figure out which cities are part of LA proper.

[Anonymous]

One of the things that most surprised me about this presentation was that LA does have a lot of industries that I was unaware of. The main one of interest to me were the Ports of LA and Long Beach partially because they explain why there is so much traffic and so many trucks on the road. As a science teacher, I worry about the environmental impact that this has not just on our region but also the entire planet. I am glad to know that there are regulations in place to make sure we do our part to curb climate change as much as possible.
However, one of the things that I would like to have elaborated on is an outline of which places in LA are part of LA county, unincorporated cities, etc. Is there a resource out there that would be useful?
edited by victoriachan on 7/26/2016

[Anonymous]

Steven's presentation was incredibly captivating, full of statistics, and eye opening facts about how the economy of Los Angeles is highly impacted by East Asia powerful investors. I had no idea how much money is "moved" around the metropolitan area of Los Angeles, but the data presented blew my mind. This young man is a world of knowledge and incredible talent. It was very interesting to learn that many of the new building projects are devoted to international commerce and the preservation and extension of jobs for the community. I am very proud to live in Los Angeles and to be a witness of the wonderful economical power that Los Angles represent to the world as an ideal place to import and export goods and services.

[Anonymous]

It was definitely interesting to see all the hard work and networking that goes into seeing Los Angeles remains at the top for business investments. I would've thought most businesses would naturally flock to Los Angeles for their business and not necessarily need to be swayed much in order to make their decision. I am sad that Toyota is leaving. I truly hope that the employees from Toyota will quickly find other comparable places to work for. I have a greater appreciation for the ports of San Pedro as well as Long Beach. I pass them quite frequently and would have never guessed that there were billions of dollars that have been imported from them. I plan to show pictures of these ports so my 2nd grade students can see them and know some background information about them should they ever pass by these ports in their cars.

[Anonymous]

Steven Cheung of the Los Angeles World Trade Center gave a presentation regarding trade, infrastructure, and foreign direct investment in the Los Angeles region. I was surprised that there is not more direct investment from China or South Korea. When it comes to foreign employers in the Los Angeles area, Japan is ranked number one without the mention of any other East Asian country in the top ten. The data in the summary of the 2016 and 2009 Foreign Direct Investment report for Southern California, discusses the importance of investment and employment, but both reports demonstrate a need for more investment from other East Asian countries, other than Japan.
I think this type of study can easily adapt to a 12th grade Economics course, and that "localizing" the study of economics would be of interest to students. For the 10th grade, I think a math teacher can use the data in the report for students to calculate, make projections, and create line charts and bar graphs. I would then offer a lab report style of the teaching of writing.

[Anonymous]

• Upon reading the Foreign Direct Investment report, I was better able to understand the impact that foreign companies have on life in Southern California, and in Los Angeles specifically. In looking at the industries with the largest amount of employees, I noticed some of the biggest industries are listed as natural sources, construction, manufacturing, etc. One of the questions that came to mind is the issues of workers’ rights and conditions. Every country has its culture and dynamics for the rights of workers, and I am interested how big foreign companies develop literacy on these within the American context. On a personal level, both of my parents have/are currently working for companies owned by foreign investors. Granted that they are both working class and unfortunately, more susceptible to substandard working conditions, and I am wondering what is the process of these companies acclimating themselves to practices here in the US. I come from a similar background as my students for this reason, I am sure this is an issue that personally affects my students because their parents’ place of employment directly affects their quality of life and SES.

edited by nramon on 8/2/2016

[Anonymous]

• Before hearing Cheung’s presentation, I knew that California was a powerhouse of international trade in the US, but I had a clearer picture of our region’s economic potential after hearing Stephen Cheung’s presentation. It seems that one of the factors that make Los Angeles such a desirable area to do business is its diversity, and I think that is a very significant factor to consider as we prepare our students for life beyond school. One of the things that is most concerning to me as a foreign language teacher is our schools’ approach towards cultivating literacy and fluency in foreign languages. In thinking of my experience as a young child in LA, I can distinctly remember a very concerted effort not just to help students develop in the English language, but I also remember there being legislation to get rid of dual language programs. Today we seem to be fostering a more open mind towards multilingualism, however the rate with which our students are loosing fluency in their home language is alarming. What is more, the use of multilingual education programs seems to be a resource more readily reserved for schools that are in wealthier areas, and so this directly helps to contribute to the oligarchical social structures that are already in place. If we are to prepare our young people to be at the negotiating tables of companies that choose to relocate to the US, it is of upmost importance that we train them to communicate and understand in a multilinguistic way.

edited by nramon on 8/2/2016

[Anonymous]

• As I heard about the growing power of foreign companies what came to mind is conversation I had with a local while I was in China this summer. He spoke about a lot of issues we have talked about in our sessions but what was most salient were his insights on buying real estate and relationships. He spoke to us about his girlfriend and her family and how they were in the market for a house in San Francisco. He mentioned that as a student at the University of Beijing he interacted with a lot of wealthier students whose parents protected their assets by buying homes in the US. When we asked him if his girlfriend would stay in China to live with him, he mentioned that he was not financially stable enough to consider marriage yet. It sounds like unaffordable housing is an issue both in China as well as here in the US, and I wonder what is being in the way of protecting middle class buyers here as well as in China. If we are to have sustainable economies, it is really important to make sure citizens of all social classes are protected because that directly impacts their economic power. This is a critical element to consider as both countries continue to foster closer economic ties.

edited by nramon on 8/2/2016

[Anonymous]

Great presentation and gave me some good information that I can impart to my students as they do their own research on current and future international business developments in southern California. We start fourth grade starting about the trade between different regional native tribes. We then get into the Spanish colonial period which includes the stopping in California of the Spanish galleons from Asia. The beginnings of this trade. As the history is taught it would be good for my students to do some research and the current connections between southern California and Asia including the electric car companies and LG flat screen technologies being currently courted. Great discussions can be had regarding the port facility and its importance today to national distribution. Discussions could also be had regarding the diversification that is happening. Great opportunities to teach state and national geography as well.

[Anonymous]

Again, listening during presentation & posting after all this information has been processed and digested. I am still staggered at the enormity of imports that come in through the LA/LB harbor. The sense of competition with other cities in the nation is crazy, especially with the notion of expanding the Panama Canal & other ideas. It's kind of a shame that the export containers are so empty though. We really need to produce more in this nation but with corporations getting such massive tax breaks & able to exploit the low cost of labor and production in certain countries. I am happy to hear that so many partnerships have been worked out to make LA the hub of imports throughout our nation.

[Anonymous]

Mr. Cheung's presentation was eye opening. I live in the city of San Pedro. I drive through the LA Port and Long Beach Port on a daily basis. I knew big money came through these ports but I had no idea that just in 2015 the total trade was $393 billion.

[Anonymous]

Another interesting fact tat shocked me was to find out that the No.1 investor in LA is Japan not China!!!!! As a trivia question I have been asking this question to friends and family and they are as shocked to find out that the number 1 investor is Japan, number 2 is UK and number 3 is Germany. I also get a reaction when I tell them that we export air(empty boxes) to China, who knew????!!!!!!

[clay dube]

Two reports on foreign direct investment (FDI) from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation. Please take a look at the executive summary of the 2016 report. If you're interested, you may wish to look at the rest of the report and compare it to the 2009 report. (Reading the full reports is OPTIONAL.)

2016: http://laedc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/WTCLA-FDI-FINAL-6.16.pdf

2009: http://laedc.org/reports/FDI-2009.pdf

Stephen mentioned the trip Mayor Garcetti took to East Asia. I happened to be in China at that time. I wrote an issue of Talking Points that looked at the history of LA mayors going or wanting to go to China. http://china.usc.edu/talking-points-november-24-december-5-2014 You can read about troubles the city government had with the China/Taiwan diplomatic rivalry and other challenges associated with seeking to foster business and cultural ties.

Here's another Talking Points about a 1979 visit to Los Angeles: http://china.usc.edu/talking-points-january-29-february-12-2014

To learn more about city and state diplomacy, please take a look at US-China Today's report on last year's climate change summit hosted by Mayor Garcetti.
http://www.uschina.usc.edu/w_usct/showarticle.aspx?articleID=20013&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

We have a database that includes sub-national diplomatic exchanges. You can search for various states.
http://uschinaexchange.usc.edu
edited by Clay Dube on 7/26/2016

[Anonymous]

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I agree that we should be concerned or at lease questioning the environmental effects of our large port. On my way to work, I take the 710S and then drive through the city of Vernon. Driving through there there are so many trucks and interesting smells from the chemicals that are being emitted into the air. And, my school is actually wedged between two trucking companies. I think it would be interesting to have my students consider the environmental effects of commerce on their own bodies and their community as a whole.

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