Chinese ambassador praises St. Louis cargo hub plan, warns against protectionism

[pampango]

http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/building-blocks/uncategorized/2010/02/chinese-ambassador-praises-st-louis-cargo-hub-plan-warns-against-protectionism/

"...(Chinese Ambassador) Zhou said any successful cargo hub project would depend on two-way trade, and that China welcomes U.S. exports into its economy as a way to balance trade between the two countries.

“The way to reduce the deficit is not for the U.S. to limit imports from China, but rather for the U.S. to expand exports to China,” he said. “That’s been our argument all along. I think that has been accepted by more and more people here.” But to do that, Zhou said, the U.S. will need to “liberalize” export controls, allowing more U.S. goods to be sold in China and other countries. He also encouraged a “friendly environment for Chinese investment (in the U.S.), without politicizing transactions that are completely commercial in nature.”

He acknowledged that progress on the cargo hub project is moving “maybe a bit slower than was anticipated” when the project started nearly two years ago. But the weak global economy has been a factor. So too, said Steven Perry, a China-trade expert hired by St. Louis-area business leaders, has the time it took to assemble a local group to drive the hub talks and convince state officials to join in.

But state-level enthusiasm has picked up. Gov. Jay Nixon joined a delegation that visited the Chinese embassy in Washington in the fall, and he planned to return the favor Monday afternoon, welcoming Zhou for a state dinner in Jefferson City. Tuesday, the ambassador will meet with leaders of the General Assembly."
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Never heard of the St. Louis cargo hub plan before. Any one in the SL area know anything about it?

I wonder what "export controls" the ambassador is talking about that supposedly limit our exports. Maybe that's just a distraction from Chinese "import controls" which may be the real problem. Perhaps he is referring to limits on high tech or military exports to China?

[ddeclue]

1. Who cares? FAIR TRADE NOT FREE TRADE.