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| DOYLE: CHINA TRADE MISSION OPENS DOORS FOR STATE BUSINESS April, 2004 Representatives from Wisconsin businesses took part in nearly 140 one-on-one meetings with Chinese business and governmental leaders during a recently completed trade mission to China, setting the groundwork for current and future deals, Governor Jim Doyle said Monday during a post-mission roundtable discussion. "Our goal was to open doors for Wisconsin companies," Doyle said in his introductory remarks at the event, held at the Center for International Health, 9501 W. Watertown Plank Road. Doyle himself participated in 20 meetings with top-level Chinese officials during the mission, which ran from March 19-30. Eighty-four delegates representing 46 Wisconsin businesses took part in the mission, making it the largest in the state's history. With the world's fastest-growing economy, China is ripe for Wisconsin exports and should be viewed as an opportunity, not a threat, to the state's business community, Doyle said. "We're not going to be afraid of China in Wisconsin," he said. Companies like Madison-based TrafficCast, a traffic management firm, returned from China with deals in writing. Others, like Electrochemical Products Inc., New Berlin, used the mission to establish contacts for future business. "I didn't get any contracts while I was there but I took the steps for future orders," Electrochemical Products president Eric Olander said. In order to foster trade relations with China, the Wisconsin Department of Commerce opened an office in Shanghai, Doyle said. Trade mission delegates toured several manufacturing plants in China, including one operated by Waukesha-based GE Healthcare. The plant manufactures low-end medical equipment to serve a growing demand for health care services in China, Doyle said. Components for the equipment are manufactured in Waukesha. China is the fastest-growing market for Wisconsin exports and was the state's fourth-largest export market overall in 2003, up from sixth-largest in 2002. Wisconsin companies sold $548 million worth of products in China in 2003, an increase of 52.7 percent over 2002. Chinese government officials promised to address trade imbalances between China and Wisconsin, Doyle said. "They assured us that they will import more products from Wisconsin," he said. Wisconsin businesses have a "huge opportunity" to expand the number of jobs in the state as a result of exporting more products to China, Doyle said. The mission also helped debunk many myths about doing business in China, said James Haney, president of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, who also took part in the mission. "We were concerned about the myth that companies are going to China to avoid (United States) environmental and labor standards," he said. "Wisconsin firms are setting the environmental and labor standards in China." Doyle said opportunities in China aren't limited to manufacturers, noting that representatives from Wisconsin-based law firms, financial institutions and other service providers also took part in the mission. During the trade mission, Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek, a Milwaukee law firm, announced during the mission that it has formed a strategic alliance with a Chinese law firm. Milwaukee-based Center for International Health, a consortium dedicated to improving public health worldwide, also said it signed an agreement to provide training and technical assistance to the city of Shanghai to upgrade their emergency medical response. The Center was the only nonprofit organization to participate in the trade mission. |
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