MCBC Steps Out with Suzhou

MCBC Steps Out:

Summit with Suzhou Leaders

Doing Business in China

By Mike Violette, Secretary, MCBC

We were “all in the same boat” at the Hyatt Regency in Bethesda on March 20th. Over 200 professionals, business leaders, state and local government turned out to hear some GOOD NEWS about international cooperation. The Maryland-China business connection is a success story that will sail through these tough economic storms. This message was loud and clear to the assembled: Opportunities are in the wind and the Suzhou leadership has a vision for their future.

The delegation of 15 senior leaders from Suzhou city (about 80 km from Shanghai, up the Yangtze a piece) dropped by Montgomery County by way of New York City on their tour of the US. I understand that they were off to Rio de Janeiro next, most certainly engaging Brazilian business interests at an equally high level.

MCBC was well-represented. Our own President Steve Drake got a chance to reinforce the MCBC message with DBED’s Managing Director International Investment & Trade Bob Walker and Maryland Secretary of State John McDonough.

Bob Walker, Steve Drake and John McDonough

All in the Same Boat

Mr. McDonough presented the Honorable Wang Rong, Secretary of the Suzhou Municipality and Senior Leader of the Jiangsu Provincial Government with a Proclamation that reinforced the business and cooperation commitment between the two trading partners.

Mr. Wang shows off the Maryland Proclamation

The Honorable Zhou Wenzhong, China’s Ambassador to the US provided the assembled with fine remarks on ongoing cooperation and the importance of keeping trade ties open and transparent (read: trade ‘wars’ are ultimately bad for both parties).

According to some, the US-China relationship is probably the most bi-lateral economic cooperation in this century. Without suffering any guilt about our unmitigated bias, we tend to agree.

The Meat of the Matter: The Suzhou Vision

During the presentation, the Suzhou leaders neatly laid out a visionary plan for their future. Over the next few years, they plan investments in infrastructure and key technologies that will put them in a pre-eminent position in the competitive coastal economic zones, if they are not there already: for example, currently, 70% of Laptop Computers are made in Suzhou, an astounding level of production. The next few years will see key investments in the several technology areas. Their 2010 goals include the following development and trade activities:

· Precision Machinery: $50B

· Opto-Electronics for Telecom, Integrated Circuit Development and a new generation of mobile telecom: $86B

· Bio-pharmaceutical for tumour and cardiovascular treatments: $2B

· Environmental, energy conservation, waste control: $3B

· NanoTechnologies and new materials: $2B

Over on this side of the Pacific, we have strong commitments to invest, too, but investment numbers like this are reserved for influential friends on Wall Street. I’d rather see a little more of the above spending. One thing for sure is the Chinese commitment to building hubs of concentrated development and manufacturing capability. This tends to create and intense balance of cooperation and competition.

One of the very interesting parts of the approach is the outline of the strategy for this area. In addition to the core technologies, the Suzhou leadership is putting an emphasis on advanced manufacturing methods that have, for a long time, been the purview of the US. Our strength on the innovation front has always been to push the state-of-the-art. It is really part of the evolutionary track any economy goes through, moving from low-tech manufacturing through to advanced materials and productions methods. China, if not matching the US in economic output, already runs parallel in many areas of technology.

The key take-away was that there still is good news out there for planning and investment and the long-term strategy, investing and international cooperation. We would be well-served to first, understand the scope of the development and to prepare for its impact on our technology sectors.

Underscoring the dominant position of Maryland in this regards was Secretary of the Maryland’s Department of Business and Economic Development, Christian Johansson who outlined our home state’s achievements in business and reinforced DBED’s commitment to International Trade and investment. Maryland has the second highest concentration of technology, the highest concentration of PhDs in the workforce and a great foundation of federal, state and university cooperation.

Christian Johansson, Secretary DBED

Montgomery County Council Executive Isiah Leggett and Mr. Wang Rong signed the Memorandum on Strengthening Economic Cooperation and Friendship between Montgomery County and Suzhou.

This document demonstrates the mutual ongoing commitment. The government folks have said it’s a go. It’s really up to us to the biz folks to make things happen.

Isiah Leggett and Wang Rong

And making things happen are our very own MCBC Director Jerry Solomon, President Steve Drake, Director Kristin Mowry and our new friends Wei ling Li CEO of Loci Software and Jimi Jones, Director of International Development for Aquaspace Water Systems.

Loci Software does enterprise development and has 100 engineers in Suzhou already.

Aquaspace makes water purification systems in Forestville, MD.

Juanita Hardy of Tiger Management and Eddie Resende of The World Trade Center Institute in Baltimore are long-time friends of MCBC.

Juanita’s firm is working to develop new methods and processes for helping expand US companies operations in China. Eddie, fresh from emceeing the WTCI’s Leadership Awards puts resources together for international and domestic clients. He also knows where all the good Brazilian restaurants are. Just ask him.

Rhein Tech Laboratories President Desmond Fraser and MCBC Member Tony Lau got a chance to be re-acquainted.

Both are technology mavens (Tony’s background includes satellite communications systems development. Desmond has been operating RTL for over 20 years and is Director of AmericanTCB with offices in Beijing, Taipei, Shenzhen and Shangai).

And, finally, a catered lunch always raises the spirit.

Thanks to the many sponsors and supporters of this event, namely:

• Suzhou Municipal Government
• Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development
• Maryland’s Office of the Secretary of State
• Montgomery County Department of Economic Development
• Monte Jade Science & Technology Association of Greater Washington, D.C. Area
• World Trade Center Institute
• Robert H. Smith School of Business
• Greater Baltimore Technology Council
• Chinese Biopharmaceutical Association
• Maryland-China Business Council
• Maryland Center China

Mike Violette, March 2009

Friends of MCBC

Washington Laboratories

AmericanTCB