Washington state will be front and center in international news this week when Chinese President Xi Jinping makes Washington state — including Everett — the first destination on his U.S. visit. That President Xi chose our state for his first stop underscores Washington’s long ties to China and our dominant position in today’s global economy.
China is Washington’s top trade partner and export destination. Our state’s exports to China totaled more than $20.6 billion in 2014, a 24 percent increase over the previous year and more than any other state. Trade with China supports tens of thousands of jobs in Washington state, from apple growers and wine producers to aerospace machinists and computer engineers.
Our ties run much deeper than trade, however. Our state is home to nearly 100,000 people of Chinese descent and their influence on our culture and history is undeniable.
Bruce Lee captivated the world and brought martial arts to popular culture. Wing Luke blazed a trail for Chinese immigrants in Washington and became the first elected Asian American in the Pacific Northwest. More recently, Gary Locke became the first Chinese American in the nation to be elected governor and then appointed ambassador to China.
The Seattle Chinese Garden in West Seattle brought together artisans and visionaries from both sides of the Pacific in a collaboration that resulted in the only Sichuan-style Chinese garden outside of China. The Global Innovation Exchange — the United States’ first Chinese research institution — is a partnership between the University of Washington and Beijing’s Tsinghua University, backed by Microsoft, where students and faculty from both universities will collaborate on cutting edge solutions to complex global problems at a new campus in Bellevue.
And in the areas of global health and clean energy technology, innovators and thought-leaders from China and Washington state are increasingly engaged on collaborations that are resulting in transformative new medicines and products that will change our world for the better.
While it’s true we share deep and growing economic and cultural ties with the world’s second largest economy, it’s also true we do not agree with any trading partner — including China — 100 percent of the time. There are significant trade issues, as well as human and civil rights issues, on which our countries disagree.
At times those differences will be worked out in our favor, but not always. We do know that we have a greater ability to affect national and subnational decisions by developing personal relationships — especially in Asian countries.
I led a trade delegation to China in November 2013 because I know how effective these personal relationships are. During that trip, I had the opportunity to meet with the governor of China’s Guangdong Province, the province with the highest population in the country, and the mayor of Shenzhen, a leading technology center in South China. I talked with numerous high-level government and business officials about clearing hurdles to allow more access for Washington agriculture products, opportunities for investments in clean energy projects in Washington state, and working together on sustainable development. We are working with our sister province of Sichuan to increase trade and collaboration on renewable energy.
I invited President Xi to Washington because it is in our best interest to maintain open dialogue with our counterparts in the world’s second largest economy. Our economic ties with China contribute significantly to our prosperity, while our cultural and historical ties help advance our efforts to work towards a healthy environment and a peaceful world.
Gov. Jay Inslee has focused on increasing trade, particularly in Asian countries. He led a trade mission to China in 2013 and to South Korea and Japan last month. The last visit of a sitting president from China to Washington state was by President Hu in 2006.
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