Asia Trade Mission Update: Reflections

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Now only minutes from Narita, I am heading home for Indiana. I am anxious to get back home but equally sad to leave so many new and renewed friends in both China and Japan. On the surface, Governor Daniel's trade mission to Asia has achieved substantial success. Even short of immediate commitments for jobs and investment, this journey will likely produce tangible results and benefits which northeast Indiana will reap for months and perhaps even years.

For northeast Indiana, after a quick tabulation of notes and business cards, the trip in numbers can be summarized like this: over 60 contacts from 45 corporations or organizations were made, over 20 'assist' commitments were discussed for future trips, and approximately a dozen respectable leads were established which can be expected to develop into near-term visits in the coming weeks, months and year. While these contacts, relationships and leads alone have been worth the investment of our stakeholders, these certainly are not the only metrics from this trip worth measuring.

Some skeptics may have justifiably argued to take a pass on this trip to Asia. Passing up participation in this trade mission, however, would have been clearly a missed opportunity. We as a delegation simply had to be there to fully appreciate the enormity of the potential found in China and Japan’s burgeoning economy. There are smart, capable business men and women and elected officials asking when, where and how do we go global and how do we invest in Indiana. Commitment to these personal visits and relationships with industry leaders is crucial to understanding how to best prepare for the time when China will transition from internal development to global investment.

After reflection, I have come to realize that I had under-valued the significance of our sister city and state relationships in Asia. Some might view this trip as excess—a ticket to an overseas adventure. However, to our foreign counterparts, nurturing these relationships provide passports and visas to future opportunity. While we as a culture tend to under appreciate the significance of ceremony and frills, our overseas partners and culture highly value this investment of time and formal tradition. The governor of Tochigi, for example, spared no expense during a tough economy to demonstrate how much this tenth anniversary celebration meant to his prefecture.

In China, this emphasis was even more fundamental and apparent. While we collected business cards hoping to find one in ten that might produce investment or jobs, we were asked repeatedly by our Chinese counterparts for business cards and expanded sister relationships so that they 'might' achieve a visa to visit our state. We seek the creation of wealth and they seek opportunity; it is all a matter of perspective.

One final impression to capture: Whether a twelve hour flight or twelve time zones away, we live in a very small world. Whether we understand it or not, our region and state are tightly linked to these Asian economies. How surprised I was to discover our board members and fellow community members doing business in both China and Japan. Through chance encounters in elevators to greetings from Chinese and Japanese nationals who have visited Fort Wayne or Ashley or other communities in our state, we are all connected. They know us and we are working there: we depend on mutual success, especially in this difficult, but very global, economy.

-John Sampson