US Department of Commerce Awards First-Ever Grant for US/Beijing
Information Technology Office

Three high-tech industry associations join together to build US exports to
China

October 26, 1994 (Washington, DC) - The US Department of Commerce announced
today that it will contribute $420,000 of a $1.5 million matching grant to
three US trade associations -- American Electronics Association (AEA), the
Software Publishers Association (SPA), and Telecommunications Industry
Association (TIA) -- to establish the US Information Technology Office
(USITO) in Beijing, China. USITO will benefit the American information
technology industry and help increase American exports to Asia's largest
market. USITO will be an independent entity funded through the grant and
by contributions from each of the three associations and participating US
companies.

The Chinese market offers unique export opportunities: electronics
consumption was estimated to be over $3 billion in 1993 and growing
exponentially. "China is the fastest growing market in the world," stated
J. Richard Iverson, AEA President and CEO, "It is a place-of tremendous
opportunities for US companies-especially in the telecommunications and
information infrastructure areas." The computers and peripherals markets
alone are expected to grow 42% in 1993-95 and the software and
telecommunications markets are each expected to grow 20%. As China moves
forward with new economic reforms, the country's infrastructure is being
expanded and upgraded. American companies can play a key role in these
major endeavors. "China plans to spend more than $50 billion on
modernizing and expanding its telecommunications infrastructure over the
next six years, creating a huge and attractive market for US suppliers,"
noted TIA President Matthew Flanigan.

USITO will be committed to developing the business climate in China and
making its markets more receptive to American companies, especially in the
areas of trade barriers, public policy, and intellectual property
protection. "For the software industry, China represents an enormous
opportunity. However, before American software companies can tap China's
huge potential, Chinese computer users must understand the benefits of
purchasing legal software If the level of software piracy in China
declines, China will become the industry's largest new export market,"
stated SPA Executive Director Ken Wasch. In addition to increasing
American exports, the presence of these products and new technologies in
China will help to accelerate that country's participation in the rapidly
expanding global information infrastructure.

The American Electronics Association is the largest US electronics high
technology trade group in the country, representing over 3,000 US-based
technology firms. Membership spans from telecommunication and software
firms, to system integrators and semiconductor companies. For more than
fifty years, AEA has been the accepted voice of the US electronics and
information technology industry.

The Software Publishers Association is the principal trade association of
the PC software industry. Its 1,100 members include major business,
consumer/leisure, and education software companies, as well as many
smaller software firms and hardware systems manufacturers. The SPA has
offices in Washington, DC and Paris, France.

The Telecommunications Industry Association is a nationwide trade
association representing the interests of 570 US telecommunications
suppliers, 80 percent of which are small and medium-size companies. TIA's
members manufacture all of the products necessary for modern
telecommunications networks.

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