(Belleville News-Democrat, 09/15/11)
Gov. Pat Quinn wants to be the "exporter in chief" for Illinois.
He leaves Friday (09/16/11) for China on an eight-day trade mission to increase export opportunities for Illinois companies. It will be his first visit there, and he will lead a 30-member delegation of business, education and political leaders.
St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern and Mid America St. Louis Airport Director Tim Cantwell are among about 30 delegates from business and local government who will accompany Quinn on the trip to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
For the past five years, Kern, Cantwell and other St. Clair County leaders have been working to establish Mid America, located near Mascoutah, as a cargo hub for direct flights into and out of China.
The idea behind the county plan is for Chinese air flights to fly in electronics and other imported goods, offload them at the airport, and then fill the return flights to Asia with food items from the Midwest, including frozen fish.
Towards this end, the county signed a deal with a New York businessman to build a new warehouse at the airport by July 2012.
Neither Kern nor Cantwell returned calls seeking comment.
Officials say the $133,000 the cash-strapped Illinois will spend on the excursion comes from a fund dedicated to promoting the state.
While in China, Quinn's office says he'll sign export contracts, including for agriculture. China is a major export destination for Illinois. Decatur's Archer Daniel Midland Co. will sign an agreement to sell soybeans to a Chinese manufacturer.
Quinn also will look for more Chinese investment in Illinois businesses.
China is the third-largest export destination for Illinois products, totaling $3.4 billion in sales last year. Products exported include machinery, electronics and agricultural goods |
