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Ritter to visit China, Japan
Colorado must be aggressive in promotions, governor says
Herald Denver Bureau
And he's hoping the Japanese and Chinese respond with a hearty "hello" to Colorado's tourism, bioscience and new energy businesses.
Ritter and 40 Colorado business and academic leaders will leave Saturday for a 10-day trip to Japan and China, with stops planned in Tokyo, Yamagata, Beijing and Shanghai.
"We have to be aggressive in how we market and promote Colorado," Ritter said at a Monday news conference.
Part of the goal is to get a nonstop flight from Denver to Tokyo.
All Nippon Airways is thinking about adding a Colorado flight in 2009, said Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. The Japanese airline will start flying two new Boeing 787 jets to North America next year, and the smaller, long-distance aircraft would be perfect for the Denver to Tokyo route, Clark said.
During the trip, Colorado State University officials will sign an agreement with Japanese academics to create an international center for environmental health.
It will focus on toxics in internationally traded food and consumer products.
Ritter also hopes to pitch Colorado's "new energy economy" to Chinese businesses. China relies heavily on coal power, and the country will need help to clean its air, he said.
Controversy about Chinese trade flared up again this year when poisoned dog food from China was sold in the United States.
The Olympics in Beijing also turned a spotlight on human-rights violations in China.
Ritter said those issues need to be dealt with at the international level, not at a state-level trade mission.
He thinks President-elect Barack Obama will take them on, and he said CSU's new center will help research food contamination.
The trip will cost $190,000, which includes $80,000 to $90,000 from the state budget for economic development.
Private businesses and trip participants will pick up the rest, according to information provided by Ritter's office.
Ritter went on a similar economic mission to Spain this summer.
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