"They have lots of U.S. companies, but they don't have any U.S. state agencies that have opened an office there," said Bossert, who heads the state agency that runs business incubation centers in Manoa; Kihei, Maui; and Hilo, Hawai'i.

The plan is to funnel Chinese businesses to Hawai'i while helping Hawai'i companies search for licensees and suppliers in China.

The effort is expected to get a private-sector boost from Barry Weinman, managing director of Allegis Capital and a co-founder of HiBEAM, an organization of venture capitalists and others who have raised millions for its client companies.

Weinman is in the process of forming DragonBridge, which will be a $3 million Honolulu-based merchant bank that aims to identify and aid Chinese companies interested in branching out to the United States. DragonBridge plans to have three people at Zhongguancun who will counsel and spruce up Chinese companies seeking U.S. investment capital.

DragonBridge won't invest directly in the companies, but rather will receive a cash-and-stock fee based on how much money it helps each company raise. DragonBridge plans to officially launch in July.

Starting this summer Weinman hopes five to 10 companies a year will open operations in Hawai'i in search of technical and financial support. Ideally, the Chinese companies eventually will become candidates for mergers, acquisitions or initial public offerings of stock.

Even just a few successful launches could propel Hawai'i's reputation as a home for high-tech, Weinman said.

"All we need are two or three successes and Hawai'i could get on the map with this — I mean seriously on the high-tech map," he said.

The state and DragonBridge will target companies in knowledge-based industries such as life sciences and information technology. These companies would establish at least a minimal U.S. presence required for publicly listed companies, while possibly shifting research and management duties to Hawai'i, Weinman said.

Bossert said Zhongguancun officials that visited Hawai'i earlier this year were wooed by the presence of Hawai'i's fledgling biotech sector and the state's large Chinese population.

Officials for the Zhongguancun technology park, which only has one other U.S. branch office in Maryland, also visited San Diego, San Francisco and Boston, Bossert said.

"What we pitched them on is if you're here, you can do business with the Mainland and China in the same day; that there is a large Chinese population here; and that they would get attention here," Bossert added. "They were generally surprised at the quality" of Hawai'i's tech sector, Bossert said. "There may not be a lot, but the quality is high."