The Beijing Connection
Conference Discusses Budding Ties Between Chinese Capital and Beach

“Our chamber will never be the same again.”

Miami Beach Mayor David Dermer and Kitty Higginbotham, center, during a recent visit to China.

By Nicole Alibayof

An estimated 100 million Chinese travelers will make their way to the United States annually by the year 2020, according to the World Tourism Organization. And some Miami Beach officials and business owners intend for their city to capture a significant share of those tourists.

Chinese delegates from the city of Beijing, along with Miami Beach representatives, convened at the Loews Hotel Monday, Nov. 20, to discuss plans to introduce cultural and business opportunities to each city’s citizens.

“If you’re going to fish, you might as well fish in a big pond,” said Miami Beach City Commissioner Jerry Libbin. “China holds one-fifth of the world’s population; it just makes sense to make connections there.”

For the past three months, delegates from both cities have been working to strengthen municipal government ties between the Beijing District Government and the city of Miami Beach.

Through visits to Beijing in early and middle November and now the meetings in Miami Beach, representatives have explored and developed mutually beneficial business cooperation programs, initiated cultural exchanges and explored opportunities for business collaboration in the development of Beijing’s Olympic District, said Wendy Kallergis, president of the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce. “Our chamber will never be the same again,” she said.

Kallergis said she is very excited about China’s economic growth and that her members now have access to do business and invest in China through ChinaClicks2 Consulting, which represents more than 100 Chinese companies, and Beijing OBD Investment Consulting, which has a contract with the Beijing Olympics.

Henry Orient, chair of Beijing OBD Consulting, is putting together packages for the Olympic Games in China for 10 people from Miami Beach to go watch the games. These packages include hotels, transportation and other customer services.

“This is an opportunity for us because we’re good at hosting and accommodations,” Orient said. “We have good relationships with government officials in Beijing, so our customers will get the best hospitality.”

Susan Pattis, chair of ChinaClicks2 Consulting, said that as a Chinese-American, she has a mission to bring the two cultures together.

“I always say, America is my country, China is my motherland and Miami Beach is my home,” Pattis said. (ChinaClicks2 is based in South Miami-Dade.)

With the help of Orient as one of the major sponsors, Pattis said she put together high-end meetings with government officials, and a press conference in China brought a Chinese delegation to Miami-Dade to reinforce the negotiations and finish start-up talks, all within the last three months.

More examples of business prospects include the opening of a Chinese restaurant in Miami, the opening of a computer software company in Beijing and the exploration of cosmetic surgery in Beijing.

After being in Miami Beach for two days, John Leung, an investor and advisor for OBD, is determined to open his traditional Chinese restaurant in the United States. Miami-Dade is his first choice. To realize his goal, Leung said he is willing to invest $10 million into his restaurant.

Sofi Pacific, Diane Downs’ Miami Beach-based company, is opening in Beijing. Downs will deliver marketing and sales for computer software into Asia.

At Beijing University, Dr. Baruch Jacobs, a Miami Beach plastic surgeon, was asked to show students and faculty members different cosmetic surgery techniques. “The Chinese have always been very innovative when it came to surgery,” Jacobs said, “so now they are more interested in getting involved with cosmetic surgery.”

Such business ventures will build bridges between Miami Beach and a country with an ever-growing economy and a population with the means and desire to travel to the United States, said Libbin, who has long advocated cultural and economic ties with China.

“It’s not finished, it’s just the start,” Orient said. “Miami and Beijing will get closer and closer and closer.”

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