Chinese team will visit to discuss cargo hub
St. Louis Post Dispatch
04/30/2009
About 70 Chinese business leaders will visit the St. Louis region this weekend, looking for good places to invest.
The trip, run by the Chinese Investment Promotion Agency, is the latest round of steadily deepening talks between local leaders and the Chinese government about developing an air cargo hub and related investment here in St. Louis.
Local leaders say two-way trade is key to the success of any air cargo effort and to any jobs it will create here. This weekend's visit is part of efforts by the Chinese to study importing Midwestern goods back to China, and they will meet with a range of local industry groups, major St. Louis companies and elected officials.
"This is not necessarily people coming here (to sign deals), but it is about furthering the development of commercial relationships," said Mike Jones, a top aide to St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley and head of the Midwest-China Hub Commission.
The delegation will arrive late Saturday and leave Monday evening as part of a broader U.S. trip. It added a St. Louis visit after the latest round of cargo hub talks in Beijing last month, Jones said.
