Trade summit comes to Seattle

Associated Press

SEATTLE – Government and business leaders on Monday welcomed hundreds of their international colleagues to Seattle, praising the city as a hub of the global economy at the opening of the 2001 Asia Pacific Cities Summit.

The third meeting of its kind, and the first in the United States, the summit will focus on new technology and the role of businesses and government. The meeting runs through today, attended by business and government representatives from more than 80 cities around the world.

Washington Gov. Gary Locke praised major state businesses such as Starbucks, Microsoft, Immunex and Amazon.com, saying Seattle exports more goods per capita than any other state. He also lauded local companies for setting up operations around the globe.

The Boeing Co., which earlier this year announced it was moving its headquarters away from Seattle, was noticeably absent from his list. Boeing is the United States’ largest international exporter. Because the company’s commercial operations will stay in Seattle, the company will likely continue to contribute significantly to the state’s export record.

King County Executive Ron Sims focused his comments on the “digital divide,” the gap in technology access between the world’s most advantaged and its least advantaged citizens.

“A brand new and marvelous world is ahead,” he said. “It should be shared by all of us.”

The plenary session’s keynote speaker, Microsoft’s former Chief Operating Officer Bob Herbold, joked that he was including only a few plugs for Microsoft as he previewed some of the Redmond-based software company’s new technologies.

Herbold, who continues to consult for Microsoft on special projects, also previewed technologies from other area companies and conference sponsors. But he denied that a lengthy demonstration with Terabeam, a Seattle-based company that uses wireless technology to provide broadband, implied a partnership between that company and Microsoft.

The conference at a downtown Seattle hotel was heavily guarded, as police were preparing for protests scheduled by those who oppose globalization, biotechnology and other conference themes.