2010 China Trade Mission

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.