SHANGHAI, June 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (AmCham Shanghai) proudly celebrated its 100th Anniversary yesterday. Over 250 current members and special guests marked the occasion with an evening reception at the JW Marriot Hotel Shanghai at Tomorrow Square.
On this date 100 years ago, 45 American businessmen met at Shanghai's Palace Hotel to discuss creating a business association that would promote the interests of American commerce in China. The new chamber's provisional committee included representatives from such iconic industrial names as American Steel, Standard Oil, British-American Tobacco, Singer Sewing and Dollar Shipping.
100 years later, the Chamber's corporate membership includes Apple, FedEx and Starbucks, companies whose founders, ideas and inventions were unborn, unknown or un-invented in 1915. The Chamber now has over 3,700 members, of whom 40% are Chinese nationals working for U.S. companies. Where once our members were all male, today a third are women, five of whom were elected Am Cham Shanghai board governors in 2015.
Robert Theleen, Chairman of the Board of Governors of AmCham Shanghai, and active in U.S.-China business since the 1970s, said, "For over a century, AmCham Shanghai has worked to support healthy commercial ties between the United States and China. We are proud of the contributions American companies have made to China's economic development. Over the last four decades alone, bilateral trade has expanded from a meager USD 4.7 million in 1971 to an astonishing USD 592 billion in 2014, an increase of 125,957 times."
AmCham Shanghai President Kenneth Jarrett, said, "As we enter the next century of AmCham Shanghai's development, we do so fully aware that an entirely new dimension of our work is just beginning -- supporting investment from China into the United States. We embrace this change, which will further deepen economic ties between our two countries, and will continue to work tirelessly to enable the success of our members and strengthen US-China commercial ties."
Today, AmCham Shanghai remains as committed to supporting and growing American businesses in Shanghai as our original founders, and this mission now extends to the Yangtze River Delta and beyond. And as our founders originally intended, AmCham remains a nexus for the exchange of ideas, information and best industry practices. In the past year alone, AmCham Shanghai hosted over 400 events for our members and non-members.
We are also committed to expanding and encouraging U.S.-China trade. In the past 18 months, either through our SME center or via our support for the Invest USA program, we have worked energetically to assist scores of Chinese companies to invest in the U.S.
AmCham's support for our immediate community also continues to grow. Between 2004 and 2014 AmCham Shanghai and its members gave over RMB 8.8 million to charitable causes in and around Shanghai. Another RMB 750,000 was raised at our 2015 centenary ball, some of which will fund The Centennial Scholarship, which helps Chinese undergraduate students at Fudan University and Jiaotong University, in partnership with the Shanghai Soong Ching Ling Foundation.
The remaining funds will help support two charitable organizations - The Renewal Center and INCLUDED. The Renewal Center helps displaced individuals in Shanghai find sustainable solutions through full-time support, employment, and permanent homes. INCLUDED is dedicated to helping migrant children and families to achieve their full potential by establishing community centers that proved a safe and welcoming space in the heart of migrant neighborhoods.
We look forward to another 100 years of supporting U.S. businesses, encouraging Chinese investment in the U.S., and contributing to charities in our community.
About AmCham Shanghai
The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, known as the "Voice of American Business" in China, is one of the largest and fastest growing American Chambers in the Asia-Pacific region. Founded in 1915, AmCham Shanghai was the third American Chamber established outside the United States. As a non-profit, non-partisan business organization, AmCham Shanghai is committed to the principles of free trade, open markets, private enterprise and the unrestricted flow of information.
Visit www.amcham-shanghai.org for more information about AmCham Shanghai.
