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Businesses build a bridge between China, Medford By JOHN DARLING The U.S. economy may be flatlining right now, but China is on the rise, searching out American technology, good projects and partners with capital. That�s the message of Wang Bugong, a high-level chief of a 140-corporation conglomerate with more than 1 million employees, making just about "everything" in China � from steel and oil to water reservoirs and textiles. Wang is here on a four-day exploratory trip, connecting with executives of Cutler Asia, a Medford-based investment management firm handling more than $2 billion in pension funds. Because of a burgeoning worldwide demand for pear juice sweetener for fruit drinks, Wang is also scoping out the Rogue Valley pear industry, looking for technology and experience about juicing, agriculture and processing to transplant to China�s pear and apple industry. Meetings are planned with chiefs of Naumes and Sabroso fruit companies, both already active in China. "They (the Chinese delegation) are looking at technology, growing, packaging, blending, sales," said Brooke Ashland, chief executive officer of Cutler. "They�re in the earliest stages of this in China. The Northwest is the expert. "However, China is the largest pear and apple producer in the world, and the world is switching from pop to natural juices. Whoever enters that market now will shape the industry and become a dominant player." Cutler Asia has invested $55 million in the Shanghai area, where they have an office, said Ashland, and has "attracted the attention of the Chinese government" as a significant investor and partner in future projects. Ashland this weekend will connect Wang with one of Cutler Asia�s holdings, Electric Transportation Co., makers of rechargeable, pop-on power-packs for bikes, capable of 24 miles per charge. "We Americans think everyone�s like us and needs a personal car, but in Asia most transportation is on bikes," Ashland said. "With the growth of China�s middle class, factories have moved outside of cities and to get there, workers need electric bikes. That�s 1.2 billion people just in China. The market�s huge." Wang, an economist and former government insider, consults with Cutler Asia "to help guide our investments and keep us in tune with the government�s thinking," said Ashland. "It�s like the Oklahoma land rush for American manufacturers � a huge opportunity for global growth. China�s growth this year is projected at almost 6 percent, while America�s is 1 percent or less." Powering this are normalized trade relations; China�s entry into the World Trade Organization; a strong recovery from the Asian financial market crash two years ago; open communication on the Internet and television; a huge, cheap labor pool with a strong work ethic; and new, clean environment policies throughout China, she said. The general direction of technology and capital is toward China, with product flowing to America � but "anything can happen, in any combination, in either direction," said Bill Patridge, president of Patridge and Co. Inc., a consulting firm in Medford. Cutler provides corporate financing and pairs joint ventures between American and Chinese companies. Patridge arranged Wang�s Rogue Valley visit. "China will be the fastest growing economy over the next decade and we feel that any American company that gets into a joint venture or some other involvement there will flourish tremendously," said Patridge, "and also help diminish any international tensions." Among Wang�s 24-member delegation touring the West is Jane Yang, who is working to create a sister city relationship between Medford and a Chinese city. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.