Lambert China Trade Hub Decision Soon
Fox 2
August 12, 2010
By Charles Jaco
St. Louis's race to become a major player in international trade is approaching the finish line. St. Louis will know by the end of this year whether it'll become an air cargo hub for Chinese goods shipped to the Midwest and for Midwestern goods shipped to China. Like a pair of romancing porcupines, St. Louis and China have been approaching each other very carefully for almost three years. Now a decision's coming about whether the Gateway to the West becomes the gateway to the Far East.
The proposal? Use Lambert International Airport for Chinese cargo flights here, and for area exports headed to China.
Senators Claire McCaskill and Kit Bond head to Beijing soon for a final visit - the fifth overall by area officials.
Then next month, a Chinese trade delegation comes here to either do the deal or end the deal.
Mike Jones, with the St. Louis-China Hub Commission, explains, "When the Chinese get here in September, this will be a discussion about, ok, where is this from an executable standpoint? And, uh, I'd say it's the beginning of the fourth quarter. I mean, this game's going to be over by the end of the year, one way or another."
It might start with a few flights. But the grand idea is to transform St. Louis into a global trade hub, maybe eventually with restore international passenger flights.
Jones adds, "This is really about re-defining St. Louis inside of a global market. There's an advantage to St. Louis. Once you've done that, you've got a chance to be a net attractor of all sorts of activity."
The main issue now? What sort of Midwest products would fly back to China? Biomedical products? Beef and pork? Biotechnology?
That's part of what the September meeting with the Chinese will decide. So, can St. Louis do it?
"That comes down to how do cities innovate, you know, and St. Louis has actually innovated quite well," says businessman and St. Louis native Rich Brubaker's who has lived in China for the past nine years.
Brubaker also runs the website AllRoadsLeadToChina.com, where he's written about the advantages of a hub here for the Chinese, "St. Louis has always had a good geographic location. They're talking about air freight, and may be ten, fifteen, twenty years behind Chicago, but maybe there are ways they could actually draw off Chicago."
We could know more within 30-40 days.
The broadcast: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ktvi-stlouis-china-lambert-trade-hub-081210,0,6267478.story
