Chamber Blog

Thursday nights in Uptown around this time have traditionally been owned by the Alive After Five events. While these events are fun, they’re also predictable. Well, now it seems there’s another option on Thursdays in Uptown. The Attic Bar is now hosting Caribbean-themed nights called Island Vibe Nights the last Thursday of each month.

Starting this Thursday (April 30), the Attic will feature authentic calypso and reggae music as well as Red Stripe and Smirnoff Ice drink specials.

West Indian (W.I.) Charlotte, a newly formed organization with a mission of promoting West Indian events, arts and culture, is helping to sponsor the event and it hopes to bring a variety of young professionals together from a variety of cultures and backgrounds.

So, if you’re looking to do something a little different one Thursday each month, stop by The Attic and check out Island Vibe Nights.

Random note: Picnic at SouthPark is coming up on Tuesday, May 12. Come out for good eats and networking.

Bill Tracking 

First of all, I want to remind you all to register for our Charlotte Regional Legislative Trip on May 6.  Spots are filling quickly, and it’s critical that the voice of the Charlotte region is heard around the halls of the legislative buildings.  Reserve your spot today, and please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.

This week in Raleigh the Senate came out with their version of the 2009 budget with the third and final reading and approval of the bill today on the Senate Floor.  With that, the budget is now sent to the House so they can have their turn at managing a predicted $3.4 billion shortfall in the 2009-10 budget.  We are pleased that the Senate budget, as well as the Governor’s, maintains GAP funding for the North Carolina Turnpike Authority’s toll road projects through 2011, which includes the Monroe Bypass and the Garden Parkway projects in the Charlotte region.  The UNC System and the NC Community College System both have full funding for enrollment growth in the Governor and Senate’s budgets, however the Senate’s budget also provides new funding for technical education programs and instructional equipment. 

In 2009-10 there is an additional $500 million in revenue from unspecified tax increases to cover the Senate’s budget.  This tax plan hasn’t been released in part because details have yet to be finalized.  After the House presents their budget bill, the Senate and House versions of the budget will eventually come together in a final bill after many expected compromises and negotiations in each governmental body and across the aisle.

In other news around the capital, the Intermodal/Congestion relief bill (H148/S151) is scheduled to be heard in House Finance next Wednesday morning.  If approved, this bill, which would give counties the ability to levy a local option sales tax for public transportation, would likely go to the House floor for a vote on Thursday. 

Another event that might interest you is our University City Chapter’s Economic Development Conference in collaboration with the Cabarrus Regional Chamber and University City Partners on April 22.  This breakfast conference will educate attendees on the economic, social and environmental impacts that light rail will bring to this area.  Click here for more details, including the impressive list of speakers, and to register.

I look forward to keeping you posted on the happenings in our state government both in this blog and via Twitter.  You can follow me at @Voice4BizCLT, or follow Natalie English at @cltlobbyist, to follow all of the Chamber’s “voice for business” activities at the local and state levels.  As always, please feel free to contact me at 704-957-3728 or at awaller@charlottechamber.com if you have any questions or comments.

With a population of 1.3 billion people, China is the largest country in the world. Its economy ranks third, behind the U.S. and Japan and ahead of Germany. The per capita income, or standard of living, ranks much farther below. The Chinese are determined to improve that ranking and to match the economic clout of the United States. Whether or not they can succeed is one of the most compelling questions of the 21st century.

Beijing’s metro population is 18 million. Laborers live in shantytowns next to manufacturing plants or in high rise towers that look straight out of Moscow in the 1950s. Elsewhere the architecture is modern and stunning. The buildings and neon of several streets compare favorably to Michigan Avenue in Chicago and Times Square in New York. All the upscale brand names are here, including Maserati and Ferrari.

The new Beijing Airport opened one year ago in time for the Olympics. It is bright, modern and well organized. And it is the cleanest public building I have ever seen. It is often said in the United States that when we travel to China today we see the future. This is it.

The Great Wall of China is one of the manmade wonders of the world. Photos do not do justice to its steepness. Brown air limits our ability to see the wall stretch and wind across the jagged mountains. The notion that this smog is caused by industrial pollution and an economic engine that is just awakening is sobering. Perhaps industry is not to blame. Sandstorms from the nearby Gobi desert are common.

A government official addressed our group. His English was good and the message was direct: We are China, we are big in population, our economy is growing, and in time we will match the power of the United States; you need to decide if you want to be our partner and grow with us, or not.

There are 20 million people in Shanghai. It is the largest city in China. If Beijing is to China what Washington, D.C., is to the U.S., then Shanghai is New York, a cosmopolitan city of the world. Shanghai is not like the rest of China, but it is what the rest of China aspires to become. The real estate alone is an incredible concentration of wealth.

Shanghai is port city and the gateway to central China for corporations from around the globe. It is in the process of surpassing Hong Kong as the financial capital of Asia. In 2010, it will host a World Exposition that will bring in 70 million visitors over a five month period. The investment in public infrastructure to handle this one event alone will be $73 billion.

The Oriental Pearl TV Tower is dramatic to behold. This structure is as emotionally evocative as The Bird’s Nest in Beijing. Shanghai is an architect’s dream. Towering skyscrapers are modern, distinctive and numerous.

During the Cultural Revolution Chinese students were taught that Americans were poor and subsided on banana peels. Today many claim to have unfettered access to the Internet. We are told that simple “blah, blah” will not cause one to “disappear.” Asked what would happen if one burned a Chinese flag in Tian’an Men Square, we are told: “Most definitely, disappear.”

The cities of China are huge and growing bigger. I suspect that they will figure out how to better balance economic development with the environment over the long term as the transition from a largely manufacturing economy to a more service based economy unfolds. Nuclear energy will have to become a bigger part of the story.

Those who hold power in China may call themselves communists, but communism as a guiding economic philosophy is hard to find. At the street level, free markets rule. But let’s not be fooled, control of this big country is still held tightly under a strong form of authoritarian rule.

In many ways, China does represent the future. Yet in many ways it remains a developing country. The sheer untapped potential of their domestic market will fuel growth. The Chinese economic stimulus package in 2009 is 6 percent of the gross domestic product versus 1 percent in the U.S. A lack of good health care for citizens will be its Achilles heel.

Companies that want to compete globally have or will find their way to China. Many from Charlotte and our region are already there. Asia will provide the greatest opportunities for growth for a long time.

So what opportunities are there for Charlotte in China? In 2007, U.S. investment in China totaled $28 billion. China’s investment in the United States was a mere $1 billion. Most think this second number is likely to grow significantly over the long term.

More than 25 states have opened trade offices in China, including North Carolina. While short term results will be modest, now is the time to begin building the knowledge and relationships that will allow us to compete for our share of this growing pie. Economic developers from the Charlotte Chamber have visited major cities twice in the past six months. Last year we added a new recruiter who is a native of Shanghai and speaks fluent Mandarin. Short term efforts, combined with patience, will produce investments and jobs over the long run.

Contact bmorgan@charlottechamber.com for the complete copy of Bob’s China Trip notes.