Inside the governor's trip to China

Bobby L. Hickman

May 1, 2008

Editor's note: BTB correspondent Bobby L. Hickman was one of only a handful of journalists to accompany Georgia's historic trade mission to China in April.

Gov. Sonny Perdue termed Georgia's early spring trade mission to China a success, a view shared by most delegates on the trip.

Interviewed at the end of the five-day trip to Shanghai and Beijing, Perdue said the leaders of the delegation – which included Secretary of State Karen Handel and Economic Development Commissioner Ken Stewart – felt the trip more than met its goal of raising Georgia's profile in the world's fastest-growing economy.

With 1.3 billion people and a growing middle class hungry for new products and high-quality consumer goods, Perdue said China "is hitting a critical mass. Companies in Georgia will benefit from further expansion of our trading relationship as more Chinese companies do business in China and Georgia companies expand there."

At first glance, many of the public events appeared ceremonial and driven by large Georgia corporations already active in China. Perdue was aboard Delta's direct Atlanta-to-Shanghai flight on March 31, then moved to Beijing to open Georgia's 14th overseas business development office on April 2.

The next day, First Lady Mary Perdue visited Coca-Cola's Project Hope primary school in Tainjin village, while the governor traveled to Tsinghua University to expand that institution's educational partnership with the University of Georgia. Perdue also called on Chinese companies that already have ties to Georgia, such as Sany Heavy Machine, which is building a new factory near Barnesville.

Economic development officials say doing business in Asia comes only after company officials build personal relationships.

There was one unexpected development on April 3 – PAX Technologies announced it will locate its U.S. headquarters in Atlanta, employing 20 – but for the most part, trade agreements with China are a long, slow process.

Perdue compares it to growing an oak tree: "You plant and grow and nurture, and eventually you'll get some shade." He said the new trade office is an important part of the puzzle – one more point of contact to introduce Georgia to Chinese companies, another source of information for entrepreneurs looking to establish a U.S. presence or expand import-export ties.

Similarly, he said the new Delta flight to China is another step to encourage both business and private travel to the southeastern United States. U.S. Embassy officials project that within 10 years, some 150 million new Chinese tourists will flood the world. Georgia officials are working with Chinese tour companies to help ensure they get a piece of that tourism boom. Perdue noted direct flights to Atlanta "make it more likely that Chinese citizens will find their way to Georgia."

Wide open potential

Aside from state officials and large corporations like UPS, the trade mission also featured representatives of several business organizations. Mike Giles, senior VP of the Georgia Poultry Federation in Gainesville, said China already is the No. 2 market for U.S. poultry products and he believes the new Georgia office will help expand that trade. Gary Black, president of the Georgia Agribusiness Council in Commerce, said that with 1.3 billion people in China, "the potential is wide open here."

Jorge Fernandez, VP of global commerce for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, led a group of approximately 20 delegates who came to China in mid-March. He said the chamber made considerable progress meeting Chinese companies in eight other cities before merging with the Perdue group in Shanghai.

Yvonne Williams, president/CEO of the Perimeter Community Improvement District, came to Beijing looking for ideas that could help address Atlanta's traffic woes. Like many delegates, Williams was surprised by how traffic in Beijing seems even worse than Atlanta's.

She noticed a number of Beijing residents still use bicycles, "not a solution we could sell back home." But she was interested in the numerous pedestrian bridges over large roads, a concept that might help foot traffic in the Perimeter corridor.

Al Hodge, vice chairman of the Georgia Board of Education and president and CEO of the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce, was on hand at Tsinghua University and other education-related events.

"We're always looking to create jobs," Hodge said. "We have a number of international companies in Rome" and his chamber would like to attract Chinese companies in such sectors as automotive, aviation and food processing.

Numerous business interests

Small business also got plenty of attention. Winston Heard, executive director of the East Athens Development Corporation, said microenterprises can benefit from overseas partners just like multinationals do. Julie Menefield, the group's grants coordinator, visited the Silk Market in Beijing to collect business cards from suppliers who could provide fabric to seamstresses and upholsterers in Athens.

Many other delegates came from small and medium-sized companies around the state, including Joel Hunt, VP of industrial contractor Hunt Industries in Valdosta. Hunt Industries "has done some jobs with Chinese companies building facilities in the United States, and we'd like to do more," he said. "We're hoping to meet representatives of Chinese companies that may be planning to come to the U.S."

Real estate brokers Christa Michael of Keller Williams Realty in Roswell and Dwana Coleman of ERA Coleman Overstreet Realty in Tifton are looking to expand their international real estate businesses, and held meetings with at least two Chinese real estate firms.

Michael also has another interest: growing a new international relocation company which she founded earlier this year. The company introduces people from other countries (and those from the United States seeking a move overseas) with real estate professionals in their target city, state or country who can read, write and speak the local language fluently.

Overall, delegates were encouraged by the openness of the Chinese culture, and the energy of the entrepreneurs they met, yet understand it will require patience to bring success in expanding China's trade with Georgia.

As Perdue said during an interview, "We're taking the long-term view here. Things don't happen quickly. But everything seems poised that when these relationships mature, things will pop very quickly."