by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
The “Year of the Ox” Chinese New Year celebration rumbled through Jacksonville Tuesday and the event provided local business leaders a chance to meet with the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China, Qiao Hong.
There were celebrations of the Chinese Holiday throughout the state recently and Jacksonville joined in last week. Holland & Knight opened up its conference facilities in the Bank of America Tower to host a breakfast reception for Hong, who is based in Houston. Her consular jurisdiction includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas and Puerto Rico. The Consul General is responsible for coordination of exchanges between China and the United States in her jurisdiction in the areas of economy, trade, science and technology and culture. Her responsibilities also include protecting the rights of its citizens in its jurisdiction and issuing visas and appropriate papers.
As Jacksonville’s port continues to attract more international trade, the importance of building relationships can’t be stressed enough, said Mike Hightower, chair of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce.
“If you are working on relationships, you do that sitting at a table whether it’s breaking bread or at a negotiating table,” said Hightower. “And when you do that, if it’s for long term, you sit in a chair and that chair has four legs. In Jacksonville we have an extraordinary chair for relationships. What we have represented here is the Jacksonville Chinese Association, 3,000 folks who are part of the Chinese community in Jacksonville, that’s the first leg. The second leg is the Chamber. The third leg is our port. The first has to be, if we are going to make it long-term, it has to be the mayor.”
Hong echoed this sentiment and recognized the history China has had with Jacksonville.
“We have a very close relationship with Jacksonville through trade and sistership,” said Hong. “The city government, Chamber of Commerce and local businesses have helped develop that relationship.”
This was not the first time Holland & Knight donated office space to further Jacksonville-China relations. The law firm donates office space and pro bono counsel to Enterprise Florida at its Beijing office. Enterprise Florida Inc. is a public-private partnership whose goal is, “To diversify Florida’s economy and create better-paying jobs for its citizens by supporting, attracting and helping to create businesses in innovative, high-growth industries.”
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