urbanSTL

Here's a bunch of info on the China negotiations:



Link to StL Commerce Magazine's June 2006 issue, full of stories on the proposed China deals:

http://www.stlcommercemagazine.com/arch ... index.html



Story in today's P-D about StL and the PRC:

Chinese leaders, local businesses meet

By Tim Logan

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

Monday, Jun. 16 2008



Local business leaders made their pitch this morning in Clayton for closer trade ties with China to a delegation of investors and business people from the fast growing nation.



A 240-member trade delegation, including Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan, are visiting St. Louis among other U.S. cities. St. Louis and Chinese officials have been talking this year about expanding trade opportunities and developing an air cargo hub in St. Louis.



Several local companies including Town and Country-based Solutia Inc., and Ferguson-based Emerson signed trade deals worth $5.3 billion with Chinese companies. And in an address, Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Ma Xiuhong called for closer relations between the two countries.



Chinese investment in the U.S. "Has just taken off," Xiuhong said through an interpreter."



China is Missouri's fourth largest trading partner with $1 billion in exports, and may soon pass Mexico and Korea, said Tim Nowak, executive director of the World Trade Center St. Louis.



Dan Duran, chief executive of the United States Soybean Export Council, said that China's growth will provide a huge market for more agricultural exports from the Midwest. One in six rows of soybeans grown in the United States goes to China today, a number that will likely grow.



"There's business to be done and there's people to feed, and we'll do that together," Duran said.

Source: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... enDocument



I had heard that Wang Qishan was in StL over the whole weekend in anticipation of this; thank God it wasn't too humid.



While big things are still a ways off from reaching full implementation, it bodes very well for StL as a gathering place for such negotiations taking place and serious considerations of long-term partnership. The ancillary developments that can come from this could be huge, including and especially new businesses moving to StL to capitalize on the potential hub.

The Chinese Presence in Vancouver was actually Hong Kong businessmen leaving after it came under the control of China. It's a little bit different. Moreover, it only had such a positive affect because of Vancouver's leadership insisting on urban design and density. We don't have such leadership.

Arch_Genesis wrote:First Post. This is by far the most exciting news I've read about st. louis in awhile but I'm having trouble condensing this down to how it affects the average St. Louisan.



From what I've read this has the potential to create hundreds of new jobs. That just doesn't seem like a lot. I guess I'm having trouble figuring out how big a boom this could have on the city. It seems like it could potentially have a domino effect eventually but the direct impact would only be hundreds of jobs?

Welcome. Simple rundown:



1. There is a fee charged for every plane touchdown, collected by the Lambert Airport Authority, right now somewhere around $18-27 each per touchdown or takeoff (someone please verify correct me where I'm wrong). They are looking at a large increase in total daily landings and takeoffs.



2. Hundreds of jobs are very good; it really is an important number. This figure represents new jobs from existing businesses in the StL area. As well, companies across the US will relocate for proximity to the potential hub. They will bring in hundreds more new jobs with them.



3. They will need new buildings, meaning well over a thousand new construction jobs on long-term projects. There are 700 acres of land being totally redeveloped for companies looking to work with the airport on deals like this, including the Hazelwood West and NorthPark sites. Plus, to support such a large jump in potential business, we can see increased construction around the whole area, from Earth City to Dupo.



4. Chinese businesses will establish presences in StL. More new workers will be living in StL, more native workers in jobs as well. General population cultural diversity will increase substantially (and we will have better Chinese restaurants). There will be increased net investment into the region as these new workers make their homes. And anyone who's been to cities in China knows that they like skyscrapers and would probably build in both Clayton and Downtown StL.



5. All these things are taxable. The Airport is still under the dominion of the City; increased revenues can fill up the coffers well. The County also is getting a great amount from this. We will finally be able to pay for a lot of stuff that we've needed, from roads to schools to police to MetroLink to whatever other areas are in the most need.



Focus: StL would be the hub for logistics and general business in the Midwest for the world's fastest-growing economy, with more than five times the population as the US and trillions of dollars to spend. We would be along for the ride the whole way through. This is an opportunity in the billions upon billions of dollars that has a long-term impact on every facet of the StL Metro Area's economy and quality of life.

Doug wrote:The Chinese Presence in Vancouver was actually Hong Kong businessmen leaving after it came under the control of China. It's a little bit different. Moreover, it only had such a positive affect because of Vancouver's leadership insisting on urban design and density. We don't have such leadership.

Yeah, our local, state, and federal leadership just came together in a non-partisan manner to recruit this new opportunity, not have it fall in our lap from preexisting business. Let’s please not start blaming them for this success.



If the Playmate Bikini Team came to my office, gave me ten million dollars, and told me that they’re flying me to Jamaica for a week vacation at their all-inclusive private resort, I wouldn’t complain that the resort may not serve my favorite breakfast cereal.

goat314 wrote:


Chinese interest in the area intensifies

By Tim Logan

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

Tuesday, Jun. 17 2008

Parts I found the most interesting:

... (Vice Premier Wang) Qishan spoke at length of the importance of strong trade ties between China and the Midwest, and the role St. Louis will play in that.



China "landed on the East and West coasts first," he said. "But it is time that we moved our attention to St. Louis and the state of Missouri, and used the base here in St. Louis to expand our openness to the Midwest of the United States, to open up further and promote economic links."





... The air hub was a main topic of talks Monday between Qishan and Sens. Christopher "Kit" Bond and Claire McCaskill. And a group of Chinese aviation officials will be in town all week studying how to make it work.



"We're all agreed on where we want to go," Bond said after the meeting. "Now, we need to work out the details."

That Mr. Qishan said that, with intent, is amazing. This is happening much faster than I anticipated, like a Chinese company getting the Chinese government to be compliant and cancelling out excessive bureaucracy. Now Missouri, and StL City and County, are working openly and seamlessly to effect the steps necessary to see this through.



Within five years, we may have A380s landing daily at Lambert.

St. Louis Texan wrote:

zink wrote:HHmmmm, i mean I am sure our officials were, "Mr. China we have a state of the art, brand new, never used 9,000 ft runway for you to use. Hell, we'll make sure no other airlines land on it! And if the weather gets hot, we will let you have priority takeoff on the 11,000ft one."



That right there seems pretty solid.

Dont crush our enthusiasm

Nah, don't worry, Texas, because dink has a point. We have a brand new runway that can host massive air traffic and is currently underutilized. Remember, one of the reasons Chicago won't get such a cargo deal, although already a hub for commercial flights to China, is that O'Hare is saturated. Our underutilization is essential for this to be even considered. Add in MidAmerica for excess capacities, and we're lined up well.



What did we think, the W-1W Runway was going to be converted to a parking lot?



An interesting variable for this deal is the Chinese policy of gas subsidation. To spur commerce across the country, the PRC has instituted subsidies on gas so a gallon is about a buck apiece. I am sure that this includes jet fuel...

Today, FedEx announced that it would be on a downswing for the next few years as expenses for fuel are eating their earnings...

If Chinese cargo flight fuel is subsidized in the PRC, it could capitalize on much of that vacuum and substantially increase the likelihood of flight maximization as these fleets continue to operate as normal amidst these price wars. While other transport hubs stutter, Chinese subsidized fleets could maintain traffic scales in a StL hub.

Just a thought.

Great read from chicago web site. This is REALLY exciting. Not only could it turn around and stimulate the economy locally, but it could be an historic deal for Chinese-US relations...(with stl in the center



http://www.examiner.com/p-182579~Chines ... _Ties.html

I think what this signifies is a stepping stone to once again become a world player, a necessity for any mid-American city wanting to boost it's significance in the country.



This is an extraordinary move for St. Louis and Missouri to ambitious enough to take this step.



Tell me if you see otherwise, but I would compare this in a way to Chicago's step towards developing the railway and concentrating on becoming the railway center of the US. How did that benefit chicago for being the center? True, we're not talking about people transporting, but we are talking about a central destination of economic exchange and logisitics, which therefore means a more attractive location of settling down -- in this case companies and divisions.



Logistics, although not everything, is vital to success of most companies. Look at Dell.

^ That is ridiculous. There is no way our airport is the "worst looking in the country." Have you been anywhere? While the place has its problems, the improvements are progressing.



To be on par with some of the newer (DIA) facilities and major city/hub type airports we have some work to do for sure, but there are numerous comparable cities that have inferior airports to ours.