If California Governor Jerry Brown were to meet President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama during their two-day meeting this week in Southern California, one thing the Golden State governor could proudly mention is his recent fruitful visit to China.

Brown and several California business leaders went on a week-long trade mission to China in April in a bid to attract investment from the world's second-largest economy.

The trip produced several concrete deals, including a $1.5 billion investment in the Brooklyn Basin waterfront development project in Oakland, California, and a $20 million contract for a zero-liquid-waste discharge project in China.