Getting Down to Business

When I signed up for this trip, I knew that it would be a whirlwind of meetings and engagements with sparse free time.  That's Governor Daniels' style- "Hit it hard from morning until exhaustion".  Well that might be a bit of an overstatement, but when I signed in at the hotel's workout room at 6:15 am and saw that the Governor had signed in at 4:30, and was probably showered and dressed by then, I knew it would be a long day.

We began with a briefing by an official of the US Dept . of Commerce, who headed up the Shanghai office, about the state of the Chinese economy, which had just surpassed Japan as the second largest in the world, behind the US (but for how long?).  He explained that the recession had also hit China, but not to the extent of other world economies.  They, too, invoked a stimulus package, but invested it primarily in infrastructure.  In addition, they were able to implement it quickly due to the fiat power of a Central Government.    Their GDP growth is expected to be about 7 percent this year, which is down from double digit growth in previous years.

We then heard from a high level representative of Cummins engine company (headquartered in Columbus, Indiana) who outlined the tremendous growth they have experienced in China over the last 30 years, which, along with their other geographical and product diversification, has helped them stay profitable during the recession.  Steve talked about the importance of building solid relationships with Chinese companies over a course of years.  Cummins had invited 7 of their top Chinese part suppliers to join us for lunch and dialogue, and a number of them talked about the possibility of expanding into Indiana in the near future.   We then met with about 20 representatives from the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce to discuss common business issues.  Many of their members said that obtaining visas is a major problem for them in coming to the US to explore expanding their companies there.  Then we took the bus to a reception of the Friends of Indiana where many ex-patriots and alumni of our universities met to hear the governor speak and to visit with each other.

On the way home, a Chineese national explained to me that just 15 years ago rice paddies and swamps existed where hundreds of sky scrappers now stand.  Shanghai is a beautiful and clean city with much optimism and an endless ambition.  Young people flock to chic arears like one called new town that is a recently redeveloped area filled with high end restaurants, trendy shops and music venues.  Tomorrow we will tour the Eli Lilly Research Center in Pudong, visit a trailer manufacturing plant and then attend a reception back at our hotel.  I should have pictures tomorrow as I realized a I need to pick up a card reader to transfer them to my computer.

All for now.  Jon