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Gov. Gregoire to lead state, territorial governors on China trade mission

For Immediate Release: October 13, 2011

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire on Monday will lead state and territorial governors on a trade mission to China to strengthen business relationships, encourage economic trade and ultimately create jobs. While in Beijing, the six governors will participate in the second U.S-China Governors Forum.

�To grow jobs and economic growth � we know we have to reach out to our international business partners. That�s who�s buying our products right now,� Gregoire said. �And we know these trade missions lead to success. It�s been just a few months since my last trade mission to Europe � and already participants are in negotiations for multi-million dollar deals thanks to the face-to-face meetings we were able to coordinate. That means jobs for Washingtonians. We have to be aggressive. With the amount of global competition � we can�t sit back and wait for international prospects to come to us.�

In June, 2010, Gregoire launched the State Export Initiative � an ambitious strategy to increase the number of exporting Washington companies by 30 percent, and help an additional 5,000 businesses achieve $600 million in new export sales by 2015. As of this past July, year-over-year exports from Washington state have increased 20 percent.

�There�s no question our efforts are paying off,� Gregoire said. �That means desperately needed jobs at a time when we need them most. And we know new jobs are the way out of this recession.�

Joining Gregoire is Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie, North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue, Guam Gov. Eddie Calvo and Northern Mariana Islands Gov. Benigno Fitial. The trip to Beijing is sponsored by the National Governors Association � which will be paying the individual costs for participating governors.

The trip is the result of a recent visit to the United States by Chinese President Hu Jintao. During that January visit, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi signed a memorandum of understanding supporting the establishment of a U.S.-China Governors Forum. Since then, NGA has partnered with Madame Li of the Chinese People�s Association for Friendship and Foreign Countries to provide a forum in which U.S. governors and Chinese provincial leaders could discuss issues of mutual concern including trade and investment, educations exchanges and cooperation on energy and the environment. The first forum was held at the NGA annual meeting this summer in Utah, where four Chinese provincial leaders participated.

Gregoire and the other governors will arrive in Beijing on Tuesday, where they will participate in several meetings focused on boosting local economic development and job creation. U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke is expected to meet with the governors.

Following her time in Beijing, Gregoire on Thursday will make a separate, state-supported trip to Tokyo, Japan, where she will meet with executives from Shin Etsu Chemical, one of the world�s largest producers of silicon wafers for the semiconductor industry. Gregoire will discuss the possibility of the company expanding its production facilities in Vancouver, Washington, and share the advantages of growing business in Washington state. Gregoire will also recognize company CEO Chihiro Kanagawa for his past contributions to the state.

In Japan, Gregoire will also be meeting with executives from Toray, a leader in carbon-fiber manufacturing. Toray already has a manufacturing facility near Tacoma which builds parts for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and could potentially expand production to other sectors, including automotive.

Before returning to Washington state, Gregoire will join Boeing Japan President Michael Denton in a meeting with leaders of the Sendai Red Cross. The meeting will provide Gregoire with a progress report on the earthquake and tsunami recovery � and give the governor an opportunity to highlight Washington fundraising efforts to help those impacted by the natural disasters. Following the earthquake and tsunami, private Washingtonians raised more than $17 million to benefit those impacted. Washington businesses donated another $25 million.

Gregoire will also visit a home for people displaced by the tsunami where she will present personal written messages of hope and encouragement from students attending Olympia�s Washington Middle School, Garfield Elementary and McKenny Elementary Schools. The governor will also place a wreath in the village of Yuriage, which suffered extensive damage by the tsunami.