Dalai Lama has 'no effect' on China Hub talks
KMOX
February 18, 2010
by Michael Calhoun
The chairman of the China Hub Commission isn't losing any sleep over the Dalai Lama's summit with President Obama -- and threatened backlash from the Far East.
"All of that is above my pay grade, chairman Mike Jones told KMOX on Wednesday. "Our approach to this is we have to be focused on those things we can control."
Jones said the Chinese haven't brought politics into the discussion, so he's not worried.
A delegation from St. Louis is headed to China next month, he said.
On the agenda: talks with airlines about when they'll fly and with how many planes. Officials will also talk logistics with companies interested in exporting goods. Jones said local companies are also expressing interest, singling out Emerson as one which has gotten involved.
He said the trade hub would be a focal point for the entire Midwest.
"We've sold the theory of this idea for both us and the Chinese, now we're down to the hard work of the details," Jones said at a summit at Saint Louis University on the potential hub.
He hopes to see a deal sealed by the end of the year.
