Chapter 1381 - 1375: Chinese Chamber of Commerce
Not to say anything else, just the number of airports in the United States is at least ten times that of the domestic level. If all these airports were newly built or maintained to the same degree as domestic ones, wouldn't these airports be losing money terribly — most of them are privately owned enterprises, unlike back home.
They found a fairly decent hotel to stay in. After such a long flight, Lin Chuan managed to hold up, but Tang Yumeng was very fatigued.
After resting for the night, they somewhat adjusted their jet lag. Little did they expect that as soon as they finished breakfast and before heading to check out the electronic market in the United States, a visitor had arrived.
"Su Yonghua? Who is this guy? Sounds unfamiliar," Lin Chuan could at least confirm that he had never dealt with someone like that before, otherwise this name wouldn't sound so foreign to him.
Tang Yumeng thought for a moment, her eyes widened suddenly: "I remembered! This Su Yonghua should be the Vice President of the Chinese American Chamber of Commerce. He has quite a significant influence in the Chinese American business community here. How did he suddenly come here?"
Lin Chuan laughed and said, "No matter why he's come, or how he knew we were here, meeting face-to-face will make things clear, right?"
While walking with Tang Yumeng to a private reception room in the hotel, Tang Yumeng introduced Lin Chuan to the Chinese American Chamber of Commerce.
In the early years, the Chinese American Chamber of Commerce was a business exchange organization formed by Chinese people rooted in the United States. People went abroad for mutual care, shared hardship, and resisted potential risks together.
After the normalization of Sino-US relations, the chamber was gradually taken over by the Chinese government. Although its members are still those who come to the United States to conduct business, it has gained stronger cohesiveness.
While the chamber president is appointed from the upper ranks, they don't handle physical affairs but rather steer the chamber toward a direction beneficial to the country. Moreover, the chamber president also holds practical positions domestically. Thus, the actual operation of the chamber largely falls on the shoulders of the two vice presidents, which highlights Su Yonghua's authority in the Chinese American business community.
After waiting in the reception room for a while, they saw a waiter leading a somewhat balding middle-aged businessman entering.
"This must be Mr. Lin of Sichuan University Group! You're even younger than the photos in the newspapers! Long time no see, General Manager Tang!"
Tang Yumeng smiled slightly. She actually had no acquaintance with Su Yonghua, but had attended two gatherings of the Chinese American business community when she previously came to the United States, where Su Yonghua also attended as a guest. They barely spoke a few words, otherwise Tang Yumeng wouldn't have taken so long to recall his identity.
However, the other party was saying this to close the distance between them, so she certainly had no need to point that out.
Lin Chuan invited Su Yonghua to sit down and directly asked, "President Su, Tang and I just arrived in the United States yesterday, and I'm surprised to hear from you so soon. If I'm not mistaken, you must have rushed over immediately, right? Is there some urgent matter?"
Su Yonghua waved his hand and said, "Not really. It's just that Mr. Lin's name is well-known. Our chamber is very concerned with the economic development back home and is particularly interested in dynamic figures like Mr. Lin. Would there be the honor of inviting Lin Chuan to visit our chamber?"
Even though it's merely within the Chinese American business circle, Lin Chuan already feels quite flattered. You must know, this is a vice president with real power!
Thinking about this, Lin Chuan solemnly said, "Please rest assured, President Su, we will certainly find time to visit your chamber. Our Sichuan University Group is likely to make major moves in the United States. We hope to have more collaboration opportunities with your members."
Su Yonghua was very satisfied with Lin Chuan's response. Previously, he was worried that Lin Chuan might not take them seriously due to youthful success, but now it seems his worries were unfounded.
Given such external support, there's no rush to visit the electronic market just yet. It would be better to first strengthen connections with those Chinese businessmen and deepen mutual understanding. This way, they can preliminarily understand the overall market in the United States.
Tang Yumeng has a certain understanding of the Chinese American Chamber of Commerce. She drafted a list of individuals they need to focus on during this trip, along with their backgrounds, for Lin Chuan to memorize.
Afterwards, the two briefly surveyed the hotel surroundings and purchased a map of New York.
The next day, the two took a taxi to the Chinese American Chamber of Commerce.
It resembled a small church building, with a flagpole in the small square displaying the Chinese flag very prominently. Even from a distance, one could tell it was the chamber's location.
There were quite a few cars parked at the entrance. An American security guard at the entrance stepped forward and stopped them, saying, "Sir, Madam, this is the Chinese American Chamber of Commerce. If you weren't invited, I'm afraid you can't enter."
"Officer, these two are my friends." Before Lin Chuan could respond, someone hurried out from the main entrance. He looked unfamiliar, but once he spoke, the guard made way.
"Are you Mr. Lin and General Manager Tang? When you walked over earlier, President Su saw you and specifically asked me to welcome you."
Lin Chuan greeted with a smile, "Yes, that's us. May I know your name?"
The person politely smiled and said, "I am Luo Batang, from Dong'an. I sell some goods between Dong'an and the United States. Haha, I've heard many people mention your name, Mr. Lin. I didn't expect you to be so young. Truly impressive!"
Lin Chuan had heard such remarks often. He smiled modestly, exchanged a few pleasantries, and walked into the chamber with him.
From the outside of the small church, one couldn't tell that the interior was quite stylish and modern. The lobby had central air-conditioning, and most of the rooms were separated by semi-transparent glass, making them very bright and spacious.
Lin Chuan followed Luo Batang up to the second floor, where several young people were already standing. Upon seeing Lin Chuan, they all enthusiastically swarmed over.
"Hello, Mr. Lin, nice to meet you."
"Mr. Lin, I'm Zu Ping from Wallmute Electronics. Let's keep in touch in the future. If there's any chance to make a fortune, don't forget about me."
Listening to their self-introductions, Lin Chuan and Tang Yumeng exchanged a glance with a wry smile.
It's true that people here are more direct than back home, openly expressing their desire to collaborate with him. Of course, many are probably looking to establish connections to later leverage when Sichuan University Group scales new heights.
Moreover, each person is a general manager-level figure in their respective companies, which vary in size but certainly indicates their capabilities and determination.
Not only do they want to build connections with Lin Chuan, but Lin Chuan also needs to gain deeper insights into the development of the American electronics industry through them. Consequently, he exchanged business cards with Zu Ping from Wallmute Electronics and Liu Zhen from Senran Electronics.
"Alright, alright, Mr. Lin is an entrepreneur, not a signing celebrity. It's his first time at our chamber, don't scare him."
At this point, Su Yonghua's voice rang out, causing the overly enthusiastic crowd to disperse.
Lin Chuan "escaped from the siege" and quickly went to Su Yonghua's side, saying, "President Su, is everyone at your chamber this enthusiastic when someone visits? I'm fine, but how could the older folks cope with this?"
Actually, Lin Chuan's bigger question is about the incredible scale of the Chinese American Chamber of Commerce. Considering the massive scale of trade between China and America now, it could be understood.
Surely there have been many big figures far surpassing himself who have visited before. They should be used to such visits, right? So why be so warm to him?
It seemed that Su Yonghua saw Lin Chuan's thoughts and explained with a smile, "That's because Mr. Lin has a different significance to them. These young people rank lower in terms of seniority within the chamber, and their companies can't quite be compared to large enterprises, especially state-owned ones, but they all possess ambition."
"In their hearts, they hope that in China, too, there will emerge entrepreneurs like Sifro and Land, who start from scratch but lead in technology to become the strongest in their field. From this standpoint, Mr. Lin, you are not only their role model but perhaps their beacon."
Lin Chuan realized, understanding their thoughts.
Seems like he now has quite a number of "fans" in the Chinese community here.
After a brief introduction, Su Yonghua led Lin Chuan into their meeting room, where a few people were already waiting, including Zu Ping and Liu Zhen with whom Lin Chuan had just exchanged business cards.
Earlier, Su Yonghua mentioned their insufficient qualifications within the chamber, so Lin Chuan certainly wouldn't consider this a coincidence. It was likely that his special attention to them had caught Su Yonghua's eye, prompting him to specially arrange for them to be in the meeting room as well.
"Here, this is Mr. Lin Chuan, the Chairman of Sichuan University Group who has been in the limelight lately. Let's give him a warm welcome." As Su Yonghua's gaze swept across a few individuals, a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes but quickly concealed, warmly introducing Lin Chuan to everyone.