As Chinese companies increase their direct investments in the United States, one midwestern city is reaping the rewards of close relationships with its foreign counterparts. What can Toledo teach the many cities seeking Chinese investment?
"Chinese investors have been buying commercial and residential real estate in Detroit, inexpensively because of the city’s financial troubles, and have agreed to finance a $1.5 billion waterfront development in Oakland, Calif. This year, on a trade trip to China, Gov. Jerry Brown of California discussed Chinese investment in the state’s troubled $91 billion bullet train project," writes Timothy Williams.
"But Toledo, a largely blue-collar city of about 280,000, appears to be punching well above its weight at a time when mayors from Philadelphia to San Francisco are returning from China empty-handed."
The city's advantageous location, freight infrastructure, industrial assets and informal “handshake culture” have been key in luring Chinese investment.
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