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Oregon Nov 04, 2002 12:00 AM A A -Asia connection Robert Carroll 'China has gone from being a net exporter to a net importer of many food categories, including rice.' Personal file Robert Carroll, 45, is the director of ChinaBridge Consulting Group based in Ashland with offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The 4-year-old company provides business and marketing planning, market research and analysis and links buyers and sellers, allowing U.S. and Chinese companies to have a direct presence in each other's markets. Carroll lived 17 years in Asia, running various sales and marketing operations for Xerox, Apple Computer, Ricoh and Inchcape Pacific. Before that, he worked for a consortium of Bay area mountaineering, outdoor equipment and ready-to-wear, firms. He attended U.C. Berkeley majoring in Asian studies and Chinese language. He moved to Southern in 1997 and lives in Ashland with his wife and four children. Q: What are the primary connecting points for the Southern economy and the Asian market? Largely, they come down to a focus on agriculture as a primary industry and wood-related products. If we were to include all of in the same breath, we would look at high-tech as well, with companies such as Intel, Techtronix/Xerox and HP playing key roles. Those three areas form the thrust of exports to Asia. China in particular is interested in canned and shelf-stable foods, snacks and vegetables. Some of the examples would be Kettle Foods from Salem with its emphasis on natural and quality ingredients. Taiwan has an interest in seafood such as salmon, Dungeness crab and oysters, though tough competition exists with Australia and New Zealand. And, of course the Japanese love to eat sushi ' raw fish. Korea has had strong interest in frozen fruits and vegetables. The nonagriculture goods and services are broadly spread; telecommunications, computers and peripherals, electrical power equipment, building materials, food processing and packaging, agriculture and non-agriculture chemicals, medical equipment, and electronic components are all involved. In Klamath Falls there is a company, Carriage Works, that exports espresso, hot dog, ice cream and display carts. In Ashland, Darex Corp. markets its line of industrial drill sharpeners to China. Manufacturers such as Columbia Sportwear and Nike are very active in China and import a sizable amount of their product from that country. There are discussions taking place between a number of Chinese cities and Medford-based World Environmental Systems on environmental projects. Q: What triggered the interaction and where does ChinaBridge fit into that mix? In the spring of 1997 the Department of Agriculture organized a major trade mission where they invited a number of Asian trade delegates to . It was at a decisive point when there was a migration of foreign food buyers into the U.S. A number of those countries were interested in juices and fruit preserves from pears. The Trade and Information Center was very aggressive in trying to set up divisions responsible for different countries and many of the people they hired were from host countries who made their home after they finished up at the university. The state made prudent use of their many contacts and relationships. The genesis of my organization, with employees here in China and Hong Kong followed this. I moved to a growing region with access to Portland, the Bay area, points further north and south, and ease of travel to Asia. I continue to see strong growth in the region long-term, and in terms of desirability, it has a strong appeal for many talented people. Q: What are the entrepreneurial possibilities people are overlooking? I would say there is an infinite number of possibilities as prosperity and disposable incomes rise in Asia and China specifically. The Chinese have a love for food and drink, so this is a natural area. There is already a burgeoning tourist industry for Chinese wishing to travel abroad. More could be done to attract tourists to our region. Markets exist for things like micro-brew beer, wines, organic foods, renewable energy equipment, and specialized packaging and transportation. Those last two flow into e-commerce ' cottage and catalog-type industries, where people can respond quickly with customized delivery for smaller quantities and specialized goods. Last April, passed an interesting law granting e-enterprise zones. was rated the highest of all 50 states in areas of Internet law and electronic access to government. I can see where places like Ashland having a first-class Internet portal and great climate can take advantage and serve the interest of other businesses. Q: What are the risks brought on by the World Trade Organization? China has gone from being a net exporter to a net importer of many food categories, including rice. That was unheard of in the last 45 years. That's going to continue as its labor force and economy shift. There is a feeling on the part of some people that it creates an exporting of jobs, similar with industries disappearing with NAFTA. Clearly, it creates huge opportunities for large corporations here to sell products overseas. There is no question in my mind that China will emerge as one of the most significant players on the world stage in the 21st century, both economically and politically. With China's vast production capacity and advantageous cost structure, this presents both opportunities and potential areas for friction. I suspect that some industries will come under pressure if they are no longer able to compete, though, it's hard to say at this moment what industries may dry up. We have seen that issue already, say, with the textile industry, and have been flooded by Chinese goods and a large, ballooning trade deficit. The biggest problem for U.S. companies is that they haven't had market access in many key service industries and because of subsidies to farmers, high import tariffs and other non-tariff barriers in the form of quarantine regulations. The realities of WTO will start showing up in the next year as many of the duties gradually come down, being phased in over the next few years. Clearly, that does open up doors for local exporters that otherwise would have been closed. Another factor that plays a role in creating a more balanced playing field besides WTO is reform of China's ailing state-run enterprises. In the past, these enterprises could run at a loss and that was OK because the state would absorb the losses. That is now being phased out as inefficient entities are restructured or closed. Taking a long view of history, there is a strong basis of friendship and cooperation between the U.S. and Chinese peoples. There are clearly some long-standing hot buttons such as on issues of Tibet and Taiwan ' politically speaking ' and on the growing, large trade deficit which exists in China's favor. With China's entry into the WTO and the market access this will give U.S. companies, two-way trade is expected to increase dramatically and the balance of trade to move toward more acceptable levels with increased U.S. exports. With 's high-quality image already known in Asia, we are in an excellent position to take advantage of this new phase in trade relations. To suggest a subject for this column, please contact business reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail