NEWS RELEASE

For more information contact:                             
Office of the Lieutenant Governor:                                 May 19, 2005
Juliette Schindler Kelly
(360) 402-4762
kelly_ju@leg.wa.gov

 Lieutenant Governor Leads Goodwill &
Trade Mission to China

Olympia (May 19, 2005)— In an effort to further increase the state’s strong cultural and economic ties with the China, Lieutenant Governor Brad Owen is leading a delegation of business leaders, educators and journalists on a mission to the People’s Republic of China next week.  The group will represent the State of Washington in Sichuan, China during Sichuan’s International Sister Cities Cooperation and Development Week 2005, followed by meetings in the Pearl River Delta region and Shanghai.

The mission is co-organized by the Washington State-Sichuan Province Friendship Association, a not-for-profit dedicated to promotion of international cooperation in cultural, economic and educational endeavors between the state and the province. The mission is being funded through the Association by private donations from Boeing, Weyerhaeuser, the Port of Tacoma and the participating delegates.  The Friendship Association’s co-vice chair, from Washington State, will also accompany the Lieutenant Governor.

A province of approximately 90 million people in central-western China, Sichuan has ties to Washington State that date back to 1982, when Governor John Spellman signed the Washington-Sichuan Relationship of Friendship Accord.  This marked the first of the “sister state” agreements between the U.S. and China, following the normalization of diplomatic relations in 1972.  “Sichuan Week,” with the theme of “the promotion of economic and trade cooperation, and the development of international tourism,” strives to establish a constructive and open platform for the collaboration between international “sister states/cities”. 

At the end of the “Sichuan Week”, the delegates will hold official and business meetings in Shunde, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, including a visit to a Kent-based leather manufacturing company and the Shenzhen office of Gig Harbor-based A/D Electronics. The ten-day visit will end in Shanghai.  

“To say that China is important to the economy here in Washington is a gross understatement,” said Owen, who will embark on his third mission to the People’s Republic of China  since taking office in 1997.  “Our two-way trade through the Port of Seattle alone is almost $10 billion a year,” added the Lieutenant Governor.  

In addition to China, Lieutenant Governor Owen is planning a mission to Korea this summer, as he continues his active role in enhancing international connections with Washington.  

“These missions are so incredibly valuable because of the relationships that are formed with the face-to-face contact,” said Owen.  “We’ve actually had to decline some invitations this year, due to time constraints, which I regret because once you establish the relationships and  educational and cultural exchanges, business and trade follows.”