Jill Swain, the 52-year-old mayor of Huntersville, North Carolina, was raised when China was mostly unknown and inaccessible to US citizens. This month, she finally visited the country in an eight-day trek spanning 23,000 miles and seven cities.

She joined a small delegation from her state as they sought to increase trade opportunities between the US and China, with a focus on bringing Chinese manufacturing companies to the South. Assisting in coordinating the itinerary was SoZo Group, an investment advisory and economic-development company operating in Hong Kong and the US that helps establish partnerships between companies and communities.

Swain and four representatives from Alabama - Dothan Mayor Mike Schmitz, Dothan City Manager Michael West, Thomasville Mayor Sheldon Day and Monroe County Commission Chair Greg Norris - toured Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Bazhong, Nanchong and Langzhong.

Swain received an invitation in part because of Huntersville's working relationship with George Harris, SoZo Group general counsel and a lobbyist who represents the town in Washington, DC. Harris accompanied the delegation to China.

"The trip was important for me because I thought there would be potential opportunities to bring economic developments into the town of Huntersville," Swain said.

The mayor is seeking to diversify the tax base for the town's more than 48,000 residents and to showcase to potential Chinese manufacturing partners what Huntersville has to offer toward economic development. She's also after additional cultural opportunities for the town.

The delegation attended 34 meetings and met with Chinese government officials and business leaders spanning a number of manufacturing industries, including aviation, ship-building, heavy machinery, railway equipment, 3D printing and metal production through several receptions hosted by the Asian Manufacturing Association (AMA).

"I tend to believe that Huntersville is really poised for more high-tech businesses, and yet there were some manufacturing businesses that we visited that I would be thrilled to have," Swain said, mentioning 3D printing as an example. "The options are limitless."

Huntersville is near the large Charlotte metropolis, which has a number of world-renowned universities, including the University of North Carolina, which recently opened an energy facility, according to Swain.

"I think we have access to some pretty darn smart minds for any area of research and development," Swain said. "Personally, I'm interested in energy and the green sector and transportation."

On June 12, SoZo Group will host a US-China manufacturing briefing in Washington, DC, to announce the host city for the first US-China Manufacturing Symposium in November, which will take place somewhere in the South.

"I saw [during the trip] that this is really an opportunity for us to start building bridges and building relationships that may help change long-term the relationship between the US and China," Swain said.