17 October 2005
Creating jobs in Kansas focus of Governor’s mission to China
Sebelius to lead delegation of business leaders on trade mission
WICHITA, Kan. – There are opportunities for Kansas businesses in China, and that creates a great potential to generate jobs here at home, Governor Kathleen Sebelius said today as she announced details of her upcoming trade mission to China.
Sebelius will lead a 45-member Kansas trade delegation made up of representatives from business, agriculture and education. The mission will run from October 21 to October 29 and will focus on expanding opportunities for Kansas businesses to sell their goods and services to the world’s most populous nation.
“China is our fifth largest trading partner. We sell hundreds of millions of dollars of goods to China, and that means thousands of jobs here in Kansas. Our exports to China expanded by 20 percent last year, and we want to continue that trend and create more jobs in Kansas,” Governor Sebelius said at a news conference with business leaders joining her on the mission. The conference took place following a tour of BG Products, Inc. of Wichita, recipient of this year’s Governor’s Exporter of the Year Award and a member of the trade mission.
The Governor reported this delegation is the largest international trade mission ever organized by Kansas to pursue new markets in Asia. Kansas exports to China totaled $210 million in 2004, up from $174 million the year before.
“There’s a real untapped market here we want to help Kansas businesses exploit. China has a booming middle class, and if we can sell more products there, be they wheat or widgets, that helps our economy,” Sebelius said.
Expanding the market for Kansas farmers will be a major focus of the mission. The Kansas agriculture representatives on the mission will meet key industry contacts and make a fresh assessment of market potentials for the sale of Kansas livestock, commodities and value-added food-based products to Chinese customers.
“I’m glad we have an opportunity to build on the goodwill and growing trade relations in the China market,” said Adrian Polansky, Secretary of the Kansas Department of Agriculture. “Our reputation for producing quality beef, pork, and grain products is a major theme on the mission, therefore carrying a strong, positive message to Chinese consumers.”
The China mission itinerary includes stops in Beijing, Zhengzhou and Shanghai. Key features of the trip include meetings with senior members of the Chinese central government ministries, a hosted Kansas event for government and business leaders in Beijing, an official opening of a Kansas China Office in Beijing, networking opportunities with Chinese business executives in sister state Henan Province, and strengthening of educational programs of teaching and exchange with Kansas Regents universities.
Governor Sebelius has accepted an invitation from the leadership of Henan Province, Kansas’ sister state in China, to meet and continue the dialogue and renewal of friendly relations established in a July visit to Kansas by Henan officials. She will also address students at SIAS University, which has formed a strong partnership with Fort Hays State University.
The Kansas Department of Commerce will manage the mission operations and direct the work program for the Kansas China Office. This is the first permanent representation for Kansas government in China. It is a strategic commitment to build on business relations built over 26 years of state initiatives since the normalization of relations in 1979. The first priority of the new Kansas office will be to advance the outcomes of the Governor’s October mission.
