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SALT LAKE CITY — With China emerging as the newest economic superpower, competition for Chinese money is getting tighter.
Salt Lake Chamber spokesman Marty Carpenter said, "The Chinese are adding $2 billion of foreign reserves every day. They have money and they're looking for places to invest it."
Carpenter says Utah was among the first states to recognize the potential impact of creating inroads with China, but by no means is it the only state to do so.
- Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube Group, Inc. broke ground on a $100 million plant in Alabama
- Nanshan America is building a plant in Indiana
"When Gov. Herbert was in China a year ago, while he was there, there were governors of five other state visiting China," he said.
But there are some advantages the Beehive State has over other places. For instance, our former governor was former U.S. Ambassador to China. Plus, Salt Lake City and Beijing are both former Olympic cities. Carpenter says these are business connections which Utah can exploit.
"We've been very aggressive in our outreach with China to let them know that Utah has something to offer and that we're a great place to do business," he said.
When Chinese consumers come here and spend money to ski or enjoy our national parks, it's the same as exporting something to China.
–Marty Carpenter
"We have some advantages, like the fact that so many people here in Utah speak a foreign language and we have a high number of Mandarin speakers."
Even if Chinese companies decide not to invest in Utah, Carpenter says the state would benefit greatly if just some of the millions of additional tourists that are expected to travel out of China come here.
"The fact of the matter is, in Utah, some of our best products can't actually be shipped to China. But, when Chinese consumers come here and spend money to ski or enjoy our national parks, it's the same as exporting something to China," he said.
Carpenter says Utah is well known in China for its skiing, national parks, and the Utah Jazz.
