The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) sponsored an Orientation Visit (OV) to the U.S. for a delegation of government officials from the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources (MWR). The purpose of the OV was to showcase U.S. equipment and service providers in the water monitoring IT industry in an effort to familiarize the MWR delegates with advanced U.S. technology in this area and promote opportunities for U.S. companies to learn about upcoming procurements related to the implementation of the National Flood Control and Drought Relief Command System in China.

This Orientation Visit (OV) served as a follow-on activity to the previous USTDA Project. The OV provided value-added information for the MWR and offered U.S. companies the opportunity to learn about procurement plans linked to the full-scale implementation of the NFCDSS.

The OV, which was organized and conducted by Global Marketing and Communications (GMC), visited Washington, D.C. and New Orleans, LA. During the Washington portion of the visit, the delegates met with U.S. Government officials from the U.S. Geological Survey and USTDA, as well U.S. companies/organizations including Cisco Systems, ESRI and ASTM.
In New Orleans, the delegates attended the American Meteorological Society (AMS) Conference where they had the opportunity to attend numerous conference breakout sessions and meet with conference exhibitors on the exhibit floor. In addition to their participation in the AMS Conference, the delegates met for several days with U.S. companies in a private hotel meeting room. Each of the U.S. companies made a presentation to the delegation and engaged in a substantive dialogue with the delegates regarding their equipment and/or technology.

During their stay in New Orleans, the delegates also met with Mr. Curt Barrett of the National Weather Service (NWS) which provides weather, hydrologic, and climate forecasts and warnings for the United States, its territories, adjacent waters and ocean areas, for the protection of life and property and the enhancement of the national economy. NWS data and products form a national information database and infrastructure which can be used by other governmental agencies, the private sector, the public, and the global community. NWS and the Chinese delegation enjoy a close working relationship which was further enhanced by their meeting in New Orleans.