2007 Events --> November 6, 2007
Ficano happy with expanded agenda from 3rd trip

Environment a big part of trade mission
By Brad Kadrich, Staff Writer

While his first two trade missions to China focused largely on the automotive industry, Wayne County Executive Bob Ficano wanted the third trip - taken Oct. 11-21 - to expand into other areas.

That's why people from the county's Department of the Environment, the Wayne County Airport and educational fields, including students, made the trip. And, with four Memorandums of Understanding in hand, Ficano returned and declared the trip a success.

"It's all about building relationships," Ficano said. "We have definitely started to set up circumstances where we know Chinese companies are going to start investing in us."

Kurt Heise of Plymouth Township (left), director of the Wayne County Department of Environment, shakes hands with Mingsheng Pan, the director of the Environmental Protection Bureau of Bengbu, China, after signing a Memorandum of Understanding during a trade mission to China.

While there was still some auto industry representation, much of the work done on the trip involved environmental issues. Ficano walked away with MOUs from leadership in four Chinese cities - Chongqing, Wuhan, Nanjing and Bengbu - who pledged to commit to environmental issues.

LOCAL EXPERTISE

"The (Chinese) government requested we bring over as much expertise in that area as we could," Ficano said. "They historically saw the challenges we faced, especially in the '70s. They realize the issues and challenges we face (river, air quality, water quality). Now they've asked for companies with technology to help them solve those issues."

According to Plymouth Township resident Kurt Heise, director of the county's environmental department, the four cities who signed MOUs are all related by the Yangtze River, which makes the issues they face similar to those faced by Wayne County communities hooked into the Rouge Watershed.

Since they represent part of the industrial hub of the country, Heise said, they face many of the environmental problems U.S. industrial areas face.

"I was shocked by the level of air pollution," Heise said. "In some communities, you'd wake up to a nice, pink sky in the morning and by 2 or 3 in the afternoon you're under a gray-silver mud that obscures everything."

Ficano and Heise both said no demands were made in terms of the environment as it related to any business agreements, but that Chinese officials told them they were committed to improving their environmental conditions.

"We don't have standing to impose our environmental standards on them," Heise said. "(But) We see China as an opportunity. They want to have a first-class economy, and you can't do that with a fourth-class environment.

"For me that's what made the trip so successful," Heise added. "I was overwhelmed by their enthusiasm to talk about the environment."

OTHER ISSUES

Wayne County officials also had no standing to demand any improvements in other quality-control areas, but Ficano said issues such as food quality and the recent controversy over tainted toys coming into the U.S. from China were discussed.

"They told us they were recommitting to quality control," Ficano said. "At the same time, they have found in the automotive field those same issues haven't arisen as much as the toys. But they are conscious of it."

Ficano said Wayne County is an attractive landing spot for Chinese business. Already, he said, more than two dozen Chinese companies have facilities in the county, and a few others who are currently renting offices have begun looking for permanent homes.

Part of the attraction, Ficano said, is the proximity to Canada and first-rate educational institutions.

"They realize we sit on an international border, our infrastructure is solid and we have a university system that's second to none," Ficano said. "In our area we have U-M, Wayne State and Michigan State, all within close proximity. Those are all assets they find attractive."

With the third one in the books, Ficano has said there will be more trips to China.

"China is the fourth-largest economy in the world, and they could be No. 2 in another five years," he said. "The economy is global, and that's not going to change. Our job is to create an environment where they're willing to invest in this area."

bkadrich@hometownlife.com (734) 459-2700

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