Ford Motor Co., International Business Machines Corp. and Dell Inc. were among companies that signed 32 contracts today with Chinese companies that totaled $10.6 billion.
Cisco Systems Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., Microsoft Corp., EMC Corp., Oracle Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc. and Amway Corp. also inked deals in Washington at a forum hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products.
“Our two economies are highly complementary,” Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming said at the event. “History tells us that openness and cooperation is all the more important amidst a crisis.”
The contract signing comes as the global economic slowdown curbs demand for imports in the U.S., causing Chinese exports to fall. The U.S. current-account deficit narrowed to $132.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008, reflecting a smaller gap in the trade of goods.
John Ng, a senior vice president for Cisco in Beijing, said in an interview after the ceremony that his company’s contracts with China Mobile, China Telecom Corp. and China Construction Bank Corp. totaled about $300 million.
Bill Mannion, Microsoft’s senior director for OEM, said in an interview that the software company’s agreement with Lenovo Group Ltd. didn’t involve money and was an “affirmation to work together.”
IBM spokesman Ian Colley didn’t immediately return phone calls seeking comment. Ford didn’t immediately comment and neither did EMC spokeswoman Lesley Ogrodnick.
“We see this as positive for both countries’ economies,” Colleen Ryan, a Dell spokeswoman, said in an interview. “We are proud to support China’s rapidly growing technology and telecommunications infrastructure.” Dell isn’t discussing contract terms, Ryan said.
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