We are now counting down the days before we leave China. It seems as though this second week has passed too fast. Although time is passing very fast, many of us are reading to relax after this long trip. We have been learning many things while also having fun and enjoying our time here. It has truly been a great trip so far.

Today, we make our way to AmCham. AmCham is “the voice of American business” in China. AmCham focuses on business subjects, such as trade and open markets. They have done a lot of work with looking at China`s history and how they will grow. The two speakers spoke about China`s quick economic growth for 40 years. China has moved into the top few best economies. He also talked about how china will account for 20% of the world`s economy. He also compared San Francisco to China. In San Francisco, people are priced out. Housing is too expensive, therefore only a few people can live there. In China, they do a similar system with cars and education. To get a license plate, you must first enter the lottery. Once you pay to enter the lottery and you win, you must pay a very expensive fee to acquire the license plate. Education is similar, with some schools being expensive or in an expensive part of town. The student must have a house within the area around the school. This may be very expensive depending on the area of the school. This regulates the amount of people going to each school and the amount of people driving on the roads, making China less crowded than it may have been without these rules. In addition, President Trump has increased tax on trade with China. It seems as though they are still waiting to see the true impact this has on Chinese business and the relationship between China and the United States. I really learned a lot from this session, and I was able to follow along better than before.

After out trip, we went to visit Horiba, a Japanese company that focuses on engineering products with a headquarters in Shanghai. This was very interesting to me because I am learning Japanese and studying engineering. Horiba produces a large range of products from health-related items to automobile parts. They focus on making high quality products for hospitals or other companies. Originally, Horiba started off as only a pH tester. They quickly grew into a reliable company that makes products for gas testing, blood testing, and machines used in testing automobiles. I did not really understand the business side of this company, but I really enjoyed learning about the product side. I found it extremely interesting that this company made a such large range of products. I tried asking if there will be any new products in the health field, but he said that there are no plans with making any new products. They will only focus on hematology and testing outside of the body. I also wish I could learn more about the engine testing they conduct at their headquarters in Shanghai. It looks very interesting and almost fun! I enjoyed this company visit a lot. Huawei and Horiba were my two favorite company visits I have ever had. Today was truly amazing!