Michigan-China connection deepens

Governor Rick Snyder gives an NBA Detroit Pistons basketball jersey as a gift to Xu Qin, governor of Hebei province. PHOTO PROVIDED BY GOVERNOR'S OFFICE OF MICHIGAN

Q: Michigan is home to the Big Three US auto companies. In the past several decades, many of the Chinese companies that have invested in Michigan are involved in automobile R&D and components manufacturing. As electronic and driverless cars are the future of the auto industry, what will your administration do to support companies (including Chinese-invested firms) to strengthen e-car and driverless car R&D and cooperation?

A: Michigan is the global leader in assisting and promoting the development of new energy and autonomous vehicles. Our autonomous-vehicle test track, MCity, has been oversubscribed for some time, and we are at work building a new test track, opening next year, that's 10 times the size. In addition, we have passed laws helping companies test and operate autonomous vehicles on Michigan's roads. And the Michigan Department of Transportation has hundreds of miles of public highway that have sensors installed to interact with test vehicles and compile huge amounts of data.

With China, we have entered into cooperative agreements with A Nice City in Shanghai, with the Chinese Association of Automotive Manufacturers (CAAM) and CCPIT-Auto. And Chinese automotive companies and suppliers have been flooding into Michigan to learn about our plans and explore their entry into the North American market.

Q: Michigan is second only to California among all US states in the diversity of agriculture and a leading grower of fruits in the US. What's the status of agricultural trade and cooperation between Michigan and China? What does the future look like in agriculture cooperation?

A: It's certainly correct that Michigan is an agricultural powerhouse; it's our second-biggest industry in Michigan. Huge amounts of agricultural commodities from Michigan are exported to China each year. At the same time, we still face some regulatory hurdles to exporting great Michigan products - like blueberries - to China. We're working on that. Michigan is also a center for food safety education and training, and some of our institutes have trained officials from China.

Q: E-commerce plays an increasingly important role in bilateral trade as a large number of Chinese consumers shop for foreign goods via e-commerce platforms. How will Michigan make use of such platforms to further promote its trade with China?

A: There are a number of great Michigan brands selling online in China. Just on Alibaba's TMall, for example, we have Michigan companies selling, including Buick, Jeep, Ford, Graceland Fruit, Gerber, Dow Corning, Carhartt, Kellogg's, Kitchen Aid, Herman Miller and Whirlpool. These are very popular brands in China, and we're glad to see Chinese consumers excited about them.

Q: In your previous trips to China, you held a few events in Beijing and Guangzhou, promoting Pure Michigan Tourism. Could you please tell us more about Pure Michigan Tourism? What role can tourism play in promoting people-to-people friendship? What segments of Chinese tourists does the Pure Michigan Tourism mainly target? Does Michigan have plans to launch new promotional campaigns for Pure Michigan Tourism in China?

A: Pure Michigan tourism highlights Michigan's beautiful and indispensable tourism industry - our third-biggest industry in the state! We love for people from other countries to come and enjoy Michigan's tourism resources, such as our lakes - both the Great Lakes, and 11,000 inland lakes. Typically we understand that Chinese tourists don't visit Michigan on their first trip to the USA. But we like to get them on their subsequent trips. Our Pure Michigan team is busy promoting our great destinations to Chinese tourists from its offices in China.