State governments and Chinese investment

Katie and I chose to study Chinese law in the hopes that we could build a practice back in Colorado that would involve business deals or intellectual property disputes with a Chinese element. To quote someone from the Denver legal community, however, "Denver is hardly the Mecca of international law." What's more, the policies of the Colorado state government seem confined to political posturing on the Darfur issue, and not much else.

There's only about five business associations in Colorado that do anything involving the P.R.C., and at least one of them focuses on teaching Colorado businessmen Chinese banquet protocol. (The others are the U.S. Export Assistance Center, OEDIT, the Asian Chamber of Commerce) There a few academics devoted to China-US relations in the international relations arena, most notably the CCUSC at DU, but nothing of comparable strength in the business community. Nevertheless, I believe that it's only a matter of time until Chinese businesses seeking to invest overseas start taking a closer look at the Rocky Mountain region, particularly when you consider an ongoing Chinese demand for natural resources, as well as a desire to bring green technologies back to Asia. Indeed, one Denver-based law firm seems to be banking on it.

As a consequence, I am always interested to see what local American governments do to attract investment, particularly when they put on a "Dog and Pony" Show like the one that Georgia just finished up. It's interesting to note the talking points highlighted by the State of Georgia to the Chinese. Some make perfect sense: low costs, an educated labor force, and direct flights. Others, like "Gone with the Wind," Martin Luther King Jr., and former President Jimmy Carter, seem like strange things to highlight in a business context. Either way, however, it is important to note that Georgia is lobbying Washington and Beijing alike to locate a new consulate in Georgia, and that Georgia recently won a non-stop route between Atlanta and Shanghai.

Colorado, on the other hand, seems to be out to lunch with respect to China. They recently closed a trade office in China, despite the fact that China ranks as Colorado's third largest export destination. Near as I can tell,Governor Bill Ritter's only references to China have appeared in speeches on energy policy. But as one Denver Post reporter put it, "China's demand for medical technology, agricultural products, construction, computer equipment and environmental cleanup is huge. China also must improve the genetics of farm animals and crops to feed its 1.3 billion people." Why, then, does the Ritter administration seem to be so out to lunch with respect to China?

To be sure, there are a few commercial entities in Colorado paying attention to China, but the most noteworthy seems to focus only upon teaching English overseas, instead of teaching Chinese in Colorado. The other, Denver-based China Wireless Communications, seems to have some problems with respect to continuing to operate as a going concern. Meanwhile, our neighbors to the west are keeping busy courting the Chinese. I wonder, then, what it will take before the Colorado state government sits up and starts to take notice of the world transforming around them.