HOUSTON, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Representatives of the small Texas city of Sealy preparing to attend the upcoming China International Import Expo (CIIE) 2019 early November have said job creation is on the top of their mind.

Lloyd Merrell, city manager of Sealy, a city west of Houston, told Xinhua in a recent interview they hope the first trip to China will bring more job opportunities for the city.

"We want to see as many as Chinese companies as we can when we are there and see if they have an interest in coming to Houston area. We want to try to make it easy for them to do that," he said,

"We are thrilled to be part of this. What we hope to bring back from China is more manufacturing jobs," he added.

This year, Sealy has secured an investment worth 165 million U.S. dollars from China Hailiang Group, which manufactures copper, copper alloy and brass products. This is the first Chinese investment in the city.

"They have started construction on the 165-million-U.S.-dollar project, it will employ minimum 200 people. We want more of that. We want Chinese people to come to live in Sealy," said Merrell.

Besides attending CIIE, the Sealy delegation also plans to visit Hailiang Group headquarters in east China's Zhejiang province.

Organized by Greater Houston Partnership, a delegation of more than 20 business leaders in Greater Houston will go to China attending the second CIIE early next month.