Wei Jiafu, President of China Ocean Shipping Group Co. (SINA.COM)

For the first time in history, a Chinese entrepreneur addressed more than 200 journalists from all over the world at the National Press Club (NPC) in Washington on October 26 at a time when the slumping world economy has heightened trade tensions in the China-U.S. relationship.

Just one week before his arrival on Capitol Hill for meetings with U.S. officials and business leaders as head of the Chinese Association of Trade in Services (CATIS), Wei Jiafu, President of China Ocean Shipping Group Co. (COSCO), received an honor that every Chinese businessperson probably dreams of being awarded. The U.S. House of Representatives, for the first time, approved a resolution to salute this Chinese entrepreneur "for his commitment to the U.S. economy and his role as a world business leader."

With over 10 years of sailing experience as a commercial shipping captain, Wei prefers to be called "son of the ocean" privately. In 1998, at the age of 48, he took the helm of COSCO Group, which is now the world's fifth largest shipping container company. In March, he received the 2009 Commodore Award from the Connecticut Maritime Association in honor of his contributions to the industry.

"Captain Wei is well-known in the U.S. maritime industry and has established extensive and friendly relations with the American shipping industry, trade associations, and politicians," Zhu Zhiqun, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Bucknell University, told Beijing Review. "To some extent, the congressional resolution praising Captain Wei is a recognition that Chinese businesses are contributing to the recovery and development of the U.S. economy."

The proposal was made by Stephen Lynch, a member of the House of Representatives from Massachusetts, who deemed Captain Wei's relationship with the U.S. "a long and honored one." "Throughout his career, Captain Wei's commitment to the American workforce has been unwavering," the congressman said.

COSCO is the largest Chinese employer of American citizens, according to Lynch in his statement. "Captain Wei is truly a 'People's Ambassador' to the United States of America," Lynch said.

Members of Congress are especially appreciative of the fact that COSCO has created a win-win outcome for both the company and its American partners, said Zhu. According to him, members of Congress from states where COSCO operates, such as California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut, all speak highly of Captain Wei, because COSCO has helped create thousands of maritime-related jobs in those states.

"Under such critical economic conditions, job creation is most welcome by American politicians and the public," Zhu said, adding that Captain Wei has already won a "job creation award" from the International Longshoremen's Association, a U.S. labor organization.

Wei noted at the NPC that in the 1990s, no positive comments on Chinese enterprises could be found in American media. At one time the U.S. Congress even claimed that COSCO disturbed the order of the country's shipping market, but the company has proven itself over the years.

The Long Beach Port, COSCO's first entry into the U.S. market, was acquired in 2001 through a tough but dramatic media campaign. A turning point came in 2002, when the world shipping giant Moeller-Maersk Group canceled its line at the Port of Boston, which raised the prospect of bankruptcy and shutting down of the port. The governor of Massachusetts wrote to Wei personally, hoping COSCO would open a route from Boston directly to Chinese ports. COSCO outstretched a timely hand by saving the 9,000 port jobs, and creating an additional 16,000.

Years after that event, Senator John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential candidate, publicly commended Wei Jiafu for creating a local economic boom in his home state of Massachusetts.

"Blue-collar workers are always big supporters of the Democratic Party. Their changing feelings about COSCO would largely affect those of the powerful Massachusetts senator," Zhou Xinyu, a professor with the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China, was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

"Indeed, Captain Wei sets a good example of localizing Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the United States," said Professor Zhu. "Some Americans are concerned that Chinese investment in the United States will pose serious challenges to the U.S. economy, taking away jobs of local residents. Captain Wei has demonstrated that Chinese investment can bring opportunities to American workers and the American economy in general."

Captain Wei attributed the success of COSCO's localization strategy to choosing good partners, understanding local culture, and creating new employment. "This year marks the 30th anniversary of COSCO's entry into the U.S. market," Wei said. "Over the past three decades, COSCO has established sound collaboration with U.S. ports and created enormous job opportunities there."

COSCO's active involvement in local business has generated huge returns. Today, almost half of COSCO's earnings come from overseas markets through its joint-stock or wholly-owned subsidiaries in Europe, America, Australia, and other markets, most of which are localized in terms of employment and business operations.

Zhu said that the success of COSCO's operations in the United States provides a good lesson not only for Chinese businesspeople, but also for Chinese officials, who "should learn how to explain, in the simple language Americans can understand (not political jargon), why cooperation between the two countries will be mutually beneficial."

(Reporting from New York)