Chinese ambassador visits Mo.
News-Tribune
February 2, 2010
by Bob Watson
No major announcement was expected this week during Chinese Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong's visit to Jefferson City and the Missouri Capitol.
"During your visit to Missouri, we are focusing our conversation on our mutual goal of strengthening the ties between our two countries, by establishing a Midwest Trade Hub with China, in St. Louis," Gov. Jay Nixon said in welcoming Wenzhong to the Capitol.
"This is a worthy goal (that) would bring us closer together, create jobs for Missourians quickly and continue to lay a foundation for long-term economic growth and transformation."
Wenzhong called a proposed trade hub at the Lambert-St. Louis International Airport "a visionary step" that will serve both sides.
The China Hub would use land north of the St. Louis airport - and its long, largely unused runway built several years ago - to develop international trading operations.
"I hope Missouri will seize such opportunities to raise its profile in China," Wenzhong said in Nixon's Capitol office.
Nixon said Missouri's middle-of-the-country location is its biggest plus.
"The entire Midwest (is) extremely interested in this," the governor said. "(Other states) see this as an opportunity for the direct movement of goods between the economies in the Peoples Republic of China as well as the United States.
"They see these as outstanding export opportunities and outstanding educational opportunities."
Wenzhong noted his country is expanding its trading partnerships worldwide; the U.S.-China trading industry already ranks second for each nation.
"The amount of exports from the United States to China will increase," the ambassador said. "In November alone last year, it increased by some 40 percent."
Dan Mehan of Jefferson City - president and CEO of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry - also serves as a vice president of the Midwest-China Hub Commission.
"It means opportunities for export in agribusiness, high-tech, health care (and) biotech," Mehan said after the press conference. "We see this as a win-win situation for Missouri companies who want to export and for Chinese companies that are taking a look at the Midwest to invest in and look for a location in."
Planning and negotiating has been going on for nearly two years, Mehan said, and likely will need at least one more year before a final announcement is made.
Wenzhong, 64, has been mainland China's representative in Washington since 2005.
Although his visit is focused on improving trade, he answered questions on a couple of hot button topics.
- How soon might China lift its restrictions on importing American pork products? "The Chinese have agreed to resuming the import of American pork," he said. "We are in the process of implementing that decision."
- Did the Obama administration's decision to sell $6.4 billion in weapons to Taiwan hurt relations between the two countries? "The U.S. and Taiwan can maintain only unofficial relations, as agreed by China and the United States at the time of normalization (by the Jimmy Carter administration in 1979)," Wenzhong noted. "Obviously, the sale of weapons to Taiwan is not consistent with that commitment undertaken by the U.S. government. ... So, that's why we have expressed our opposition to that sale.
"On the other hand, U.S.-China relations are much more than this issue, and there are other things we need to pay attention to."
