"New York state is open for business, and particularly we are open for Chinese business," said Kathy Hochul, lieutenant governor of New York, on Monday at the China Provinces-US State of New York Trade and Investment Cooperation Breakfast.

New York state and six Chinese provinces and municipalities - Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Yunnan - signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) during the breakfast meeting at the Waldorf Astoria New York hotel.

The two sides agreed to establish a joint working group to expand cooperation in the sectors of clean technology, life sciences, advanced manufacturing, agriculture and food processing, financial services and communications and media services.

"As we continue to grow stronger bilateral ties, there is growing awareness and increasing cooperation at the sub-national level," said Zhang Qiyue, China's consul general in New York.

Witnessed by Zhang, the MOU was signed by Patrick Santillo, deputy assistant secretary for China at the US Department of Commerce, Hochul and Zhang Xiangchen, deputy China international trade representative from the Ministry of Commerce.

"It speaks to the possibility of building on where we are today," said Hochul. "Businesses from China come to our state; businesses from our state are looking for export opportunities."

Along with 25 Chinese provinces and cities, China's Ministry of Commerce has also established joint working groups on trade and investment with California, Iowa, Texas, Michigan, Washington state, and the city of Chicago since 2012.

In November 2015, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and US Department of Commerce signed an MOU to promote Sino-US trade and investment collaboration at the sub-national level.

"Over the years, there have been hundreds of business trips organized by Chinese provinces and cities to the US," said Zhang. "Local governments from both China and the US have established cooperation mechanisms, from 43 pairs of sister states and 200 pairs of sister cities to university exchanges and environmental cooperation."

She said the opportunities New York state offers in financial services, education, scientific exchange, tourism and manufacturing are highly complementary with its Chinese partners.

"The signing of this MOU today will add another dimension to such cooperation. I'm quite sure as a result of this MOU, more cooperative projects will be reached, and more tangible results will be achieved," said Zhang.

Representative Zhang Xiangchen urged the two sides to engage frequently, share information, and make opportunities known to each other.

He invited companies from New York state to take advantage of the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone and Beijing's program established last October that opened six service sectors wider to foreign investments, including finance, tourism and healthcare.

hezijiang@chinadailyusa.com