Xiamen Investment & Promotion Fair

The Xiamen Investment Fair opened today. I am traveling with the former governor of my state, a gentlemen that he regularly works with and their coordinator. I had not met the former governor before, and he is quite likable. Very down to earth, albeit on the other side of the aisle politically. We've spent a lot of time talking, perhaps because he knows and travels with the other two frequently, and I am a fresh face. He's not a bad politician - he has not made one derogatory remark about his successors - which is delightfully refreshing.

I've been to many trade fairs, and they are all about the pomp and shows. Outside of this one, we had Chinese dragons dancing, marching bands and lots of costumes from around the world. There was also a military band playing loudly in the hall. The guests of honor (there were probably 150 of them including our former governor) were on stage for the opening ceremonies, and Madam Wu was on board to cut the ribbon that unleashed hundreds of balloons and a room full of confetti.

My company does not have a booth at this fair, but I have to make a speech on doing business in my state which I have not written yet. I suspect my notes will be sparse. The fact that I cannot speak Chinese reduces my stress greatly because no one in the audience will speak much English.

The Department of Commerce arranged to have some folks fly in for an Invest America program this afternoon. Two were from the DOC in Beijing and we'd met before. Then a Deputy Assistance for the Secretary of Treasury (he was also the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US) who was "surprisingly young" and very good at these types of engagements. His speech was succinct, and he didn't dodge bullets. He hit them straight so there were no white elephants in the room.

On Unicol and the ports transactions, he said no one saw it coming. The administration now recognizes the need for education in these transactions; however, it will leave that to the Chinese. The Chinese need to market their project and educate the federal, state and local officials on major projects such as these. He did say there were some internal changes as a result of the backlash.

Some consular officers from the Guangzhou visa section came to speak on the visa process. Seventy three percent of all business and tourist visas in China are approved. From all the squawking, I thought the percentage was much lower.

The American Chamber of Guangzhou (AmCham Guangzhou) had a happy hour buffet tonight which was very nice. It was on the rooftop of a high rise overlooking an island off the coast of Xiamen and they did an excellent job. Many Shanghai-ers were present giving me people to talk to. I hate talking to people I don't know.

There is a large fireworks display (the Chinese do everything big); however, I am not attending. Too much togetherness for one day.