Another question about a business visa to China

Business visa is issued to applicants to China for any of the following purpose: visit, investigation, lecture, to do business, scientific-technological and culture exchanges, short-term advanced studies or internship for a period of no more than six months.
In order to apply for a business visa to China, you are required to provide an invitation letter from China, but please note the requirement for this letter is different by jurisdiction. In Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, the consulates require invitation letter from China; in New York, you may required to provide additional official invitation/visa notification stamped with a government municipal seal; invitation letter is not required when apply for a business visa to China, but in Washington DC, the letter of invitation from China is not required, but may be submitted in place of a business letter from your US employer.
Anyway, if you have no inviter from China or cannot get an invitation letter, you can just apply for a tourist visa instead.