U.S., Chinese mayors in Seattle to talk economic growth

Cities in China want to attract U.S. companies and investment at the same time American cities are aggressively courting investment from China.

That became evident at the first joint conference of mayors being held in Seattle this week, where U.S. and Chinese city officials are exchanging views on economic development and exploring possible business deals.

More than 100 local and regional officials from around the U.S. met with mayors, government officials and business executives from five Chinese cities in the gathering sponsored by the National League of Cities and the U.S. departments of Commerce and Treasury.

The three-day event, which wraps up Thursday, provides a forum to build ties at a local level, despite challenges that exist between the two countries, said Rogers Weed, director of the state's Department of Commerce.

"The closer you get to the people, the more pragmatic it gets and the less ideological," Weed said.

The success of cities will be determined increasingly by how well they can attract talented people and leading industries.

And "if they want to be competitive in a global economy, they have to find ways of reaching out to China," said Mark Funkhouser, mayor of Kansas City, Mo.

China is focusing development around key emerging industries: biotechnology, new energy, high-end manufacturing, energy conservation, new materials and information technology.

"The future of China's industries is exactly Seattle's economy," said Bill Stafford, president of the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle, in making a pitch for investment here.

Representatives from 30 Chinese companies accompanied the group to explore business opportunities in Seattle.

One of them was Zhengrong Shi, the chief executive of Suntech Power, the world's largest producer of solar panels. Suntech is based in Wuxi, China, but has production facilities in Arizona and research and development offices around the world.

Even though Seattle isn't the ideal place for generating solar power, "it looks like Seattle is a good hub for R&D because there is a lot of talent," Shi said. "If you have talent you can do anything."

On Tuesday, the Trade Development Alliance signed a memorandum of understanding with the city of Xi'an that could pave the way for specific partnerships.

Seattle Art Museum Director Derrick Cartwright said he is working to bring pieces from Xi'an's terra-cotta army, a collection of sculptures representing the armies and horses of China's first emperor that date back to 210 B.C., to the museum for a show.

Microsoft may invest in Xi'an through a high-tech incubator for research and development and through an investment in Chinese outsourcing company VanceInfo, which could employ about 2,000 people. The plan is still being finalized.

But some investments do not always succeed the way officials imagined.

Jiang Zhaobai, a Shanghai investor who Seattle city and trade officials promoted in events to business leaders and to the City Council, had a plan to invest in local small and medium-sized companies and help those businesses develop markets in China.

But Joe Massey, Seattle-based partner in the consulting firm Sierra Asia, said Jiang decided not to invest in local companies or renew his contract with Sierra Asia, and instead opened his office in San Francisco.

Kristi Heim: 206-464-2718 or kheim@seattletimes.com