2010 China Trade Mission

Warning: Portions of the following posting may make your mouth water….

Since our China trip centered on agriculture it makes sense to reflect on what it took to feed our delegation during our trip as well as what it’s going to take to feed future generations of Chinese people.

Each day started with breakfast at our hotel – served buffet style.  Since travelers from around the globe were dining in these same hotels, the buffets truly were international.  From American to Mediterranean to Asian offerings, one could enjoy bacon, eggs and ham, grilled vegetables, cheeses and yogurts, as well as sushi, poached fish, dim sum and miso soup, all before 8:00 a.m.  Fresh fruits and juices – watermelon and carrot were my two favorites – were available as were a variety of pastries and breads.  Tea, of course, was served, brewed in pots with strainers, not in bags.  Coffee was offered  - although the java was not nearly as strong as in the U.S.; for that option one only needed to cross the street to find one of China’s numerous Starbucks.

We were welcomed at numerous meals – both at lunch and dinner – by officials and trip sponsors.  These “banquets” were delectable affairs, allowing the Chinese to showcase their wide-ranging cuisine and attention to detail.  Seated at round tables fitted with a large lazy-susan centerpiece and holding as many as 20 people, members of our delegation and our hosts enjoyed course after course of traditional dishes, typically self-served “home style” from the lazy-susan.  A typical banquet featured 10-12 such courses and ran the gamut from cold appetizer plates to cups of soups to platters of  entrees and vegetables.  I tried everything offered, including duck tongue – it’s tough and tastes like duck!  Each meal included dishes featuring fish, pork, poultry and beef.  Although rice dishes typically were served at each banquet they did not dominate the menu.  Dessert courses consisted mainly of small¸ sweet cakes and large platters of fresh fruit.  A papaya hollowed out and filled with a glutinous filling was a pretty unusual dessert.  Using chopsticks aided portion control,  but I never left a banquet table hungry.  In spite of the number of courses, the banquets were finished in under two hours.

Our schedule kept us from venturing too far into the streets of Hangzhou and Beijing to experience food sold by street vendors, although we did happen upon a block of stands on a side street next to our hotel in Hangzhou.  These vendors offered typical street items – beef, pork and chicken on skewers – but the most interesting choices in the stalls featured tanks filled with live fish, seafood, eels and scorpions.  We passed.

In between meals our days were filled with meetings having to do with getting Indiana products to China or how to partner Indiana companies and universities with research institutions to help China grow more of its own food to help feed its 1.3 billion people.  We visited dairy and pork farms on the outskirts of Beijing and learned about the production obstacles their workers face, some of it centered around needing better equipment and better food supply for pork, beef and poultry products.  At several of these meetings we proudly were offered fruits and vegetables and dairy products including yogurt and ice cream.

It seems as though Indiana and regions of China are poised to partner to bring quality products to a country that will see the population of its rural communities moving to urban areas in mind-boggling numbers, leaving small farmers without markets for their crops and challenging the infrastructure and basic daily needs of the new urbanites who must be absorbed by cities already bursting at their seams.

Our farewell dinner in Beijing featured a trip to a restaurant known for serving one of China’s delicacies, Peking Duck.  We were accompanied there by a young Hoosier, who is studying to be a chef in Beijing, having arrived not long ago with little command of the language and a giant desire to make it in the kitchens of China’s third largest city.  He arranged for us to visit the roasting room, where the ducks are carefully prepared, and then took us to the kitchens to watch the legions of cooks who turned out delicious fare for our delegation – braised pork, marinated beef, kung pao chicken and whole fish.  The crowning entrée – a succulent duck presented with all the “fixins" - reminded us how flat our world really is:  Indiana is the largest producer of ducks sold to China!

So, if reading this column (most of it, anyway!) made you hungry, thank yours truly.

If you’re not hungry because you’ve just finished yet another meal made from food that is affordable, nutritious, safe and delicious, thank a Hoosier farmer.

Sometimes you never appreciate what you have until you’re halfway around the world.

In Indiana we have been blessed to have leaders who have moved our state forward during tough times, and who knew our state needed to reach far beyond its borders to grow the Hoosier economy.

Our delegation had the chance to honor two former governors during our stay in Hangzhou. On Friday evening, following the Indiana Banquet Lt. Governor Skillman hosted for Hangzhou officials, we visited the site of a sculpture Governor Frank O’Bannon presented to officials during a trade mission to Hangzhou in the early 90’s.  The “Spirit of Man” sculpture is made of fine Indiana limestone and was a reminder to  us of Governor O’Bannon’s leadership

Prior to departing Hangzhou for Beijing, we began our weekend the next morning with a boat ride on the lovely West Lake and a brief trip to the Hangzhou Zoo. Families and tourists alike were taking boat rides on the lake, while on the road surrounding the water people were enjoying their morning walks and flying kites.




 

After the boat ride we stopped for a delegation photo and headed to the Hangzhou Zoo. Our destination: a statue presented as a gift to the Zoo by our own Governor Bob Orr 23 years ago to salute the sister province relationship between Indiana and Zhejiang that still exists today.

The statue of a proud Indiana bison, made of Bedford (Lt. Governor Skillman’s hometown) limestone, is a very popular feature of the Zoo, and several local children joined us for another delegation photo as we crowded around the beast.

As we departed the statue for a quick peak at the Zoo’s Giant Pandas, a darling local girl about 4 years old, who had been hoisted atop the bison, turned and smiled for our cameras and flashed us the peace sign to send us on our way.

With our time in Hangzhou drawing to a close it was time to reflect on the relationships renewed and new key contacts made, including the important MOU signed by the Lt Governor during the first part of our China trip.  The opportunities presented to us no doubt were made possible not only by previous administrations but have been prioritized to a whole new level by Governor Daniels and Lt. Governor Skillman through their focus on Asia and its vast markets for agriculture, trade and economic development import and export opportunities.

The morning of our last full day in Hangzhou was focused on the important role research and educational facilities play in agriculture in China and back home.

In China each province has its own academy of agricultural sciences, each with its own area of focus. Our day began with a visit to Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ZAAS).  ZAAS is a non-profit ag research institution that will celebrate its 100th year birthday in 2011.

After welcome remarks by Dr. Meng, deputy director of ZAAS, and Lt. Governor Skillman, we listened to a briefing given by a number of ZAAS research professors and held a discussion about opportunities for partnerships between ZAAS and Indiana-based facilities.

With a faculty of approximately 1,035, ZAAS has 15 “institutes,” ranging from animal husbandry and vet sciences to food processing and sub-tropical crops.  A wide-ranging network of national and provincial research labs have enabled ZAAS to establish joint research centers with institutions in the UK, the U.S., the EURO, Russia, Ukraine and with the Chinese Academy of Science.

While ZAAS partners with a number of higher education institutions in the U.S., (i.e. Michigan State and U.C. Davis) it does not have a relationship with any university in Indiana.

Our delegation turned to our own Dr. Chuck Hibberd, associate dean of agriculture and director of extension at Purdue University, who engaged in a very informative dialogue with our ZAAS hosts.  Chuck described Purdue’s College of Agriculture and its focus on food science and safety, and quality food storage and food processing.  Purdue and ZAAS have similar research goals. He said he was very interested in an opportunity to build a partnership between ZAAS and Purdue, concluding by declaring it a “good fit.”  (Thanks for making me proud to be a  Boilermaker, Chuck!)

With a huge population in China, soon approaching 1.4 billion, and throughout the Zheijang Province, ZAAS is working to assist rural farmers in 23 communities.  These demonstration projects will provide better skills to educate farmers about better crop yields in rural areas.

Our ZAAS hosts took us on a tour of one of their research labs where we saw seed production in glass vessels, allowing for increased yields and development of better quality and disease-resistant plants.

As our meeting come to a close, it was evident there is great potential for delegates representing Purdue, hardwoods, seed marketing and production, and livestock industries to build on the dialogue and relationships established by Lt. Governor Skillman,  her great staff and the delegation during the morning’s visit to ZAAS.

We continued our focus on research and education with a meeting and tour of Zhejiang University (ZU), one of China’s great higher ed schools and known for its strong ag department.  We were pleased to hear ZU has established relationships with Purdue, IU and Valparaiso, and also delighted to hear they would like to have more exchange with the above colleges’ faculty and staff with respect to research projects.

After lunch (more on food in a future blog) the delegation split into two groups, one heading to Hangzhou NF United Meat, the largest meat processor in Zhejiang, and the other, of which I was a part, visited Transfar.  The Lt. Governor is pictured with a Transfar representative above.

Transfar is a non-governmental, non-state owned bio-tech ag company that specializes in flower and seed production.  It is located in a high tech industrial park and is ranked 379 of the top 500 enterprises in China.

The company has five main business platforms; including chemical production and service areas in logistics.

Transfar is interested in having Indiana companies partner in future projects.

As we reunited with our fellow delegates before dinner, we learned the trip to the meat packing plant had been very promising, as Hangzhou officials are pursuing opportunities to increase beef and pork imports.

All in all it was a very productive business day. More about our Friends of Indiana Reception and of an important agreement signed by Lt. Governor Skillman in the next post. 

With the jet lag of yesterday’s travels mostly behind us we got to work straight away this morning, starting with a briefing at our hotel to focus our delegation on the day’s activities.

This is my first trade mission, my first trip to China and my first experience being in a country where I have no familiarity whatsoever with the country’s language.  Beyond picking up a few phrases to offer polite greetings or extend thanks, I couldn’t pick up the language enough to read a menu or get through one line of a power point presentation.  Ditto for most of the delegation, so we welcomed the use of translators for our official visits today with leaders from Zhejiang.

Lt Governor Skillman officially opened the trade mission this morning with brief remarks to the delegation, and then we set off for a meeting at Zhejiang International Business Group (ZIP), located just a few miles from our hotel.

ZIB is a state owned company invested by the Zhejiang Government. The three key areas covered by the company are trade and distribution, financial services, and industrial investment.

The meeting with ZIB began with comments by Joe Kelsay, director of the Indiana Department of Agriculture, followed by formal comments from Lt. Governor Skillman, who outlined the importance of growing our relationship with the China and the Zhejiang province.  She noted this is the fourth international ag trade mission since she and Governor Daniels took office in 2005, with each trade mission leading to new relationships for Indiana agriculture.   Agriculture is a major driver for Indiana’s economy, contributing $25 billion annually and since 2005 has brought more then $5 billion in investments.

Various ZIB officials took turns describing the numerous sectors in which ZIB has an interest.

We learned ZIB owns 18 secondary holding subsidiaries and 148 solely-owned or major-held companies. The U.S. is ZIB’s second largest market behind the EU, with export products in 210 main categories including textiles, agriculture and native produce, and light industrial products.

Following each person’s formal remarks in English or Chinese, a translator would step in to translate for the rest of the group and it is clear both our delegation and our hosts from ZIB are proud of the accomplishments of the businesses and trade organizations they represent.

During our ZIB visit, delegation member Sonny Beck, president of Beck’s Superior Hybrids, Inc, based in Atlanta, Ind., spoke about his company’s growth in Indiana and its market share in the seed  marketplace.  Beck’s has grown from a producer of products - in this case, seeds - and now is a marketing company that helps the producers.  Sonny is the third generation to run the company and his sons and daughter are now members of the Beck’s team.

The most formal part of the delegation’s day was the afternoon seminar on Agriculture, Trade and Investment, featuring a number of presentations focusing on various sectors of economic development and agriculture.  Joining Lt. Governor Skillman and Joe Kelsay in speaking to the group were delegation members Dave Bramlage of Cole Hardwood and Steve Eberly, director of development for Midwest Indiana Economic Development.  Dave reminded us that hardwoods are the largest part of Indiana’s ag sector, contributing $6 billion annually to our state’s economy.  Steve focused his remarks on Indiana’s emerging wind power development.

Representatives, including Zheijang’s director-general of agriculture, took to the podium to describe various ag commodities and how they fit into the Zhejiang domestic and international marketplace.  The remainder of the afternoon was spent in small group discussions between Indiana delegates and their Zhejiang counterparts and translators moved quickly between the tables to assist with introductions and to facilitate informal meetings between the two groups.

We were delighted a young Hoosier familiar to the Chinese language and economy volunteered to join us to help with our translation needs. Ben Hurst, a student at Macalaster College in Minneapolis, has spent the past six months in a Chinese immersion program here in Hangzhou.  He will return home to Indianapolis in six weeks and this fall will begin his senior year of college. Ben hopes to continue his studies of the Chinese language and urban development and emerging markets upon graduation next May. A special thanks to Ben for his invaluable assistance with translating at our meetings on Thursday afternoon.

We closed the day with a lovely banquet hosted by Ruan Zhongxun, director general of Zhejiang’s Foreign Affairs Department.  Both Lt. Governor Skillman and Director General Zhongxun spoke to the dinner guests about the opportunities for Indiana and Zhejiang to become partners in progress.  The meal was a great way to cap off our day.

Tomorrow it’s off to tour a bio-tech company with a high tech ag farm specializing in flower and seed production, greenhouses and research, and then a visit to Zheijang University.

I’m looking forward to starting my day with another early morning walk along the beautiful West Lake where, at 5:30 a.m., crowds of retirees gathered to perform their morning routines including  practicing the art of Tai Chi exercise and playing badminton.  A nice way to kick off another day packed with opportunities to advance Indiana’s already impressive standing place in the world’s economy.

Our 14 hour flight arrived in Shanghai and we immediately boarded a bus to Hangzhou, which is three hours to the southwest.

As we drove along the interstate it was interesting to see agricultural practices rooted in the past - with small ponds raising ducks and fish and tiny plots of land growing grains and vegetables being tended to by single farmers in wide-brimmed straw hats - surrounded by modern multi-lane highways and new housing starts.

Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang - Indiana’s sister province - is a city of over 7 million and has been ranked as one of Mainland China’s best commercial cities, due in part to its ideal location near Shanghai and being nestled in the Yangtze River Delta, which affords a wealth of international trade opportunities to the region. It is also known for being one of China’s “green” cities due to its investment in its environmental resources.

As business has flourished in Hangzhou, the city has earned a reputation as a center for information technology, software development and telecommunications equipment.

Hangzhou is considered a domestic and international tourist destination; in fact Marco Polo declared the city of  Hangzhou, “beyond dispute the finest and the noblest in the world.”  It is known for its lovely West Lake area, home to tea houses and water taxi tours.

Indeed, Hangzhou is a modern marketplace and we are eager to kickoff our trade mission with a meeting tomorrow morning at Zehjiang International Trade Group as we discuss agriculture, jobs and investment opportunities between Indiana and China.  Perhaps the message in my fortune cookie on the long flight over put it best:

“There are many new opportunities that are being presented to you today.”