Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and a delegation of City Council members and Atlanta businesspeople, educators and economic development leaders left Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport Friday afternoon, bound for a 9-day trade mission to China.
Reed said he hopes the trip pays off for the city in new business, jobs and commercial relationships, as with previous trips he has made to the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and France.
"Every time we've taken one of these trips -- and we have not taken very many -- within a year or so, we've come back and yielded concrete results that benefit the folks in this city," Reed said before boarding Korean Air flight 36.
The 45-person delegation includes five members of Atlanta's City Council: Kwanza Hall, Keisha Lance Bottoms, C.T. Martin, H. Lamar Willis and Aaron Watson. Their presence brings extra credibility in China, where many deals require governmental blessing, said Brian McGowan, president of Invest Atlanta.
"It helps tremendously," said McGowan, whose agency functions as the city's economic development arm. "In China, the lines between government and business are much more blurred than in the U.S."
The first-term mayor describes this trip as a way for small Atlanta companies to get more of a foothold in the world's second-largest economy, and for Atlanta to get its share of $3 trillion believed to be held by China in foreign exchange reserves.
Roger Naik, president of Atlanta-based Lifestyle-USA.com, said his goal is to connect with Chinese millionaires who book shopping sprees around the world. He said Japan and Australia have their own programs to attract these trips, but Atlanta doesn't.
"Nobody's doing that, and it's a huge market," he said. Among wealthy Chinese, "the main dream is the American way of life. They are so impressed by the U.S."
Taxpayers will shoulder some of the cost of the trip, although sponsorships are expected to cover part of the expense. The total estimated cost of the trip for Reed and three staffers -- chief of staff Candace Byrd, spokeswoman Sonji Jacobs and international affairs liaison Noah Downer -- is $24,000.
Costs for City Council members could top $14,800. Several City Council members said they were flying coach and planned to reimburse the city, possibly from their Council travel accounts. Flying coach cuts the estimated cost of each person's trip to $3,700.
Martin's chief of staff, Felicia Fleetwood, said he is paying for the trip with personal funds.
The group will be feted at meals hosted by homegrown Atlanta businesses: Home Depot, Troutman Sanders, Carter, H.J. Russell & Co. and Georgia Power. There will be meetings with top government officials and "speed-dating" sessions with Chinese companies.
Chinese businesspeople might be tangentially aware of Atlanta because of Coca-Cola, Gone with the Wind, CNN and the 1996 Olympics, said Jorge Fernandez, vice president of global commerce at the Metro Atlanta Chamber. But the city needs to make a stronger argument that it is the place for world-class businesses to set up shop, he said.
"We're still an unknown entity," he said. "We need to continue to heighten the visibility of Atlanta. We need to get past the ‘gateway complex.' When Chinese people think of the U.S., they think of San Francisco and Los Angeles, because those were the traditional entry points."
Before returning to Atlanta on March 31, parts or all of the delegation will visit Seoul, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
Hall said he was especially interested in the possibility of a Chinese consulate opening in Atlanta -- preferably in his district, which includes parts of downtown. But he, like others involved in the trip, cautioned a slow approach.
"We have to take a very long view," he said. "Build relationships before you rush in and do business deals. I'm very optimistic that, at some point, something very fruitful will fall from the tree."
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