Ron Brown leads trade mission to China

Jet, Sept 12, 1994

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown recently led a business mission of 24 U.S. executives on a weeklong visit to China.

Two Blacks were among the U.S. executives who joined Brown on the mission: Yla Eason, president of Olmec Toys in New York, which is the largest U.S. manufacturer of Black and Hispanic dolls and action figures; and Calvin Grigsby, president and CEO of Grigsby, Brandford and Company, Inc., a Wall Street investment firm with trading operations in New York and San Francisco.

The purpose of the Presidential Business Development Mission was to advance U.S. commercial interests in China and Hong Kong.

U.S. exports to China in 1993 totaled $8.8 billion while goods imported from China to the U.S. amounted to $22.8 billion--which has given the Clinton administration an incentive to concentrate on economic issues in China.

The U.S. wants to make up for lost time by providing substantial backing to U.S. firms competing for business in China's growing market, Brown said.

"I don't want a level playing field," Brown said in Beijing. "I want a tilted playing field."

The mission included stops in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Brown said, "This mission initiates a new era in U.S.-China relations, acknowledging that a strong U.S. commercial relationship with China is a powerful force for positive change within China and a critical element for stability on the Asian continent."

Brown is the first U.S. Cabinet member to visit since President Clinton decided in May not to make normal trade ties contingent on improvements in China's human rights practices.

Brown's trip to China is the latest in a series of trips he has taken with U.S. executives. He has led successful trade missions to South Africa, Latin America and Russia and has helped U.S. companies win more than $7 billion in contracts.

At JET press time, Brown's mission to China already was successful with two of the U.S. companies--Westinghouse Electric and Pitney Bowes--expected to sign multi-million dollar contracts.