Connecticut companies are taking advantage of an opportunity to tap into the supercharged Chinese market. Already, four companies have signed up to participate in a trade mission to China sponsored by the U.S.-China Business Center, which is based at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain.
     Participants in the trade mission will have an opportunity to cultivate new business partnerships with companies in China. Currently, stops are planned for Beijing, the national capital, and Jinan, the capital city of Shandong Province. The itinerary is designed to be flexible in order to meet the needs of the ind ividuals and companies who will be attending. The trip is scheduled for June or July.
     "We'll meet with government officials and then businesses of the group's choosing, mostly with companies that match the desires of what our American group wants," says Edward Rybczyk, managing director of the U.S.-China Business Center.
     The China trade mission is the next logical step for the center, which has evolved from providing executive education to sponsoring major business-to-business networking opportunities. That transformation is itself a case study of how international relationships are forged.
     The center grew out of a longstanding relationship between Central Connecticut State University and the People's Republic of China. Professor Emeritus Richard Williams started the relationship in the mid 1980s as part of Connecticut's Sister State program with Shandong Province.
     In 2002, officials from Shangdong met with representatives from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) to expand the relationship between the sister states. With help from the Connecticut China Council and the World Affairs Council of Hartford, the university launched the U.S.-China Business Center.
     The center builds on the 20-year-old Sister State relationship between Connecticut and Shandong Province, one of the largest and most industrialized provinces in China. "DECD views education as another economic development tool, and as such works closely with all of Connecticut's colleges and universities," says Costas Lake, the state's international trade director. "DECD worked with CCSU to establish the U.S.-China Business Center because we recognized the importance of facilitating business between Connecticut companies and prospective Chinese partners."
     Since the center is affiliated with a university, it is no surprise that part of its mission is still educational. Business-oriented education courses and seminars are a mainstay of the center's program. Many Chinese business people have come to the center to learn from experts from Connecticut companies such as Sikorsky Aircraft, Pratt & Whitney, Latex Foam International and the Gerber Corp.
     International tourism related to the center has provided an ancillary economic boost to the state as Chinese visitors have trekked to tourist attractions such as Mystic Seaport, Foxwoods and The Mohegan Sun.
     The center's mission, however, is not limited to well-organized field trips and traditional classroom exercises. It is also involved in helping make business-to-business contacts. The center concentrates its business initiatives on joint ventures between Connecticut and Chinese companies.
     The center also helps Connecticut companies deal with trade-related issues, such as intellectual property rights. "China has had some problems in the copyright and patent areas, although there is a concerted effort to address this," Rybczyk says. "Connecticut companies need to be safe-guarded. Much of this is knowledge-based and the center can help in this way."
     To help educate Connecticut companies, the center arranges for guest speakers from China to participate in business forums statewide. In the past, for example, the center has sponsored such dignitaries as Duan Yijun, deputy director general of the Foreign Affairs Department of Shandong Provincial People's Government, speaking at the World Affairs Council; Li Jing, deputy secretary-general of the Shandong Provincial People's Government, speaking at the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce and DECD; and Shi Jin, vice director general, of the Overseas Chinese Office of Shandong Provincial Government, speaking at the World Affairs Council and Connecticut China Council.

     More information about the U.S.-China Business Center is available by calling 860-832-1919, or online at www.ccsu.edu/cbc.