Gov. Sonny Perdue says his trade trip to China has been so promising he might make another one in a few months.

Perdue said Thursday he could conduct a second trade mission to China by this summer, and he hinted Georgia might consider opening a second economic development office in Shanghai to complement its new office in Beijing.

Craig Simons/Cox News Service (ENLARGE)

Gov. Sonny Perdue and Tsinghua University Vice President Xie Weihe sign an agreement in Beijing on Thursday to increase cooperative research and educational exchanges between Tsinghua and the University of Georgia.

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"We're looking at the [2008] Olympics to see if it makes sense to come back then to follow up on the leads we have developed here, and how fruitful they appear to be," Perdue said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as he wrapped up his first trade mission to the world's most populous country.

The governor and a contingent of about 40 Georgia political and business leaders on Thursday concluded the state's highest-profile contact yet with the People's Republic of China. The state opened the Beijing trade office during the visit, which began with Delta Air Line's inaugural nonstop flight from Atlanta to Shanghai last Sunday.

The governor said trade delegates developed leads on several companies during the five-day trip and secured one commitment. PAX technology, Perdue said, will locate its headquarters in metro Atlanta as a result of the trip.

"We have found that Georgia is a very friendly place for Chinese companies," PAX Chairman and President Thomas Xu said in a written statement.

PAX provides secure-card electronic payment systems and sales software. The move initially will create only about 20 jobs, but Perdue predicted bigger things are on the way.

Several Chinese companies, including Kingwasong, General Protecht and Sany Heavy Industries, have already located in the state. But Georgia officials believe the potential for trade with China has just begun.

Georgia is one of about two dozen U.S. states and cities that have trade offices in China.

The Beijing trade office was set up to make it easier for Chinese companies to come to Georgia and to help Georgia companies who want to export to China, a country with 1.3 billion people.

Perdue said the state will consider a second trade office in Shanghai at some point if business relations with China warrant it.

Beijing is the communist nation's capital, while Shanghai is its business center. Government and business are intimately linked in China, and Georgia officials calculated the state initially could have more impact by locating a trade office in the center of government power.

"This is an economy on the verge of exploding," Perdue said.

The governor said it is important for the state to move quickly to establish relationships that can ensure Georgia will profit from China's soaring free-market economy and growing middle class.

Perdue said he and the other delegates have extended invitations for Chinese leaders to visit Georgia and get a first-hand look at the state's "business friendly environment." The Republican governor repeatedly touted Georgia's relatively low taxes and its robust infrastructure — specifically Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and the Port of Savannah — during the trip.

"The best is yet to come for this relationship," Perdue said.