CHICAGO, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Bank of China (BOC) has provided job opportunities and boosted local economy by energetically localizing its operation in the United States, general manager of BOC Chicago Branch has said.

Officially founded in March 2013, BOC Chicago had fewer than 10 employees at the start. In less than six years, the number has expanded to about 40, and 90 percent are local residents.

"The business (of BOC Chicago) has expanded from the basic financial services at the beginning to syndicated loans, cross-border merger, investment and financing, commercial estate, greenfield projects, trade finance, and commodities," Xu Kefei told Xinhua in an interview.

BOC Chicago is recruiting vice presidents and assistant vice presidents from local communities recently. "This is just an epitome of BOC's multinational culture that highlights respect, openness and compatibility," Xu said.

Being a Chinese bank that boasts the longest history, the largest scale and the most comprehensive business in the United States, BOC will always adhere to the development strategy of "building itself into a top-ranking bank in the world."

Serving real economy in the United States and promoting economic and trade cooperation between China and the United States have always been the goal of BOC Chicago Branch, Xu stressed. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel praised BOC's role in bringing employment to the city before leaving for an Asian trip including China in July 2018.

Rooted in U.S. Midwest market, BOC Chicago has set foot on such sectors as agricultural production and foods, chemical machinery, auto manufacturing, medical care and health, and rail transit. Since the establishment, BOC Chicago has dealt out more than 10 billion U.S. dollars of financing, with annual international settlement reaching 13 billion dollars, and the balance of trade finance exceeding 1 billion dollars.

Making use of its global network in commodities finance and supply chain finance, BOC Chicago has not only served big U.S. companies and reputable local clients in their development and operation and exports to China as well as worldwide, but also helped many Chinese enterprises come to the United States to seek growth.

"What's worth noting is that the U.S. enterprises that BOC Chicago has cooperation with are all big taxpayers and big employers in the states in U.S. Midwest," Xu said. "The presence of BOC has not only boosted local economy, but also indirectly contributed to local employment in the United States."

BOC will continue playing a leading role in promoting China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation, as the cooperation is an important cornerstone in the relationship between the two countries and has provided huge market development space for enterprises of both countries, Xu told Xinhua.