Asian-American Chamber of Commerce Successfully Hosts “Business Summit & Job Expo”

By Corih Kim

Asian-American Chamber of Commerce held its Fourth Annual Business Summit and Job Expo at Fairfax Government Center on October 16, 2015, with nearly a thousand people showing up to this hugely successful event. The event was filled with many speakers, workshops, and Job Fair event representing around sixty companies, from Morgan Stanley to US Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization.

In his welcoming remarks, Rep. Connolly (VA-11th District) stated that Fairfax County is the third richest county, behind Arlington and Loudoun. He stated this was due to federal contracts, and the growth and need for cyber security in federal government. He stated Virginia’s ability to adequately meet federal demand for IT, defense, and homeland security need, in comparison to Maryland’s ability to develop the health sector in response.

This contrasted slightly with Keynote Speaker’s opinion. Dr. Terry Clower of George Mason University, stated that Northern Virginia runs on a different pattern in comparison to the rest of the country in terms of the economy due to the close relationship with federal government. However, due to recent sequestration and uncertainty, coupled with their refusal to rehire, the area had been seeing slow decline, with Loudoun median income decreasing by $7,000 a year. This declining trend saw a reversal in 2015, due to better performance in the area, but by then approximately 11 billion dollars had been taken out of the local economy (Northern Virginia). It is unknown whether the recent uptake will continue up or down due to possible talks of sequestration in the federal government. As a result, he discussed the importance of diversifying local economy and industry, such as in leisure and hospitality, or even manufacturing, and accessing the kind of investment available in the growing markets of Asia. This led to his point of supporting the TPP, Trans-Pacific Partnership, a highly secretive series of negotiations between NAFTA countries, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific. He noted that to trade and access benefits from these economies, US should be proactive in teaching these emerging markets, and that US can benefit from them. He did neglect to address the many controversies surrounding the TPP, including its secretive nature and strong dissent from Democrat members of Congress as well as many concerned individuals.

The Summit held three workshops which focused on obtaining investment and growing tourism from the overseas, particularly from Asians, information regarding federal contracting, and trends related to health insurance. At the Job Fair, attendees were encouraged to network and find job leads with many of the employees in attendance, and even a drawing for prizes.

Cindy Shao, President of the Asian-American Chamber of Commerce thanked the sponsors, vendors, employers, staff, and volunteers for such a successful turnout, and promised helpful events to take place, and encouraged people to join the Chamber of Commerce, as a way to make connections and encourage growth.