After Alaskans’ visit to China, Chinese business leaders arrive in Alaska

ANCHORAGE — Barely a week after a contingent of some 50 Alaskans visited China for the purpose of discovering trade opportunities there, a group of Chinese business people visited Alaska for much the same purpose.

A half-dozen people representing the China-based Hua Hong Group met with about as many Alaska businesspeople, beginning their interaction in a meeting room on the sixth floor of the Peterson Tower in downtown Anchorage that was open to the media.

The members of the Chinese group, which includes as its projects World Trade Center Harbin, were most interested in shipping opportunities in and out of Alaska. Currently, they said, it takes 10 and a half days to ship from Shanghai to Long Beach, Calif., where they currently ship stateside. The shipping distance from Anchorage to Shanghai is only 7 and a half days, according to Lindsey Whitt, external affairs manager with the Alaska-based shipping company Matson.

“I had great memories of our trip to China. It was life-changing and I hope to be back soon,” said Whitt, who was among the Alaska contingent to visit. “I want to thank the Governor (Bill Walker) for all he’s done for my group. Between Alaska and China there are energy opportunities with LNG, business opportunities, building opportunities and, of course, shipping opportunities, which I am very interested in.”

Sui Jin Kon, Director of Global Alliances for WTC Harbin, said her group’s trip is about much more than just diplomacy.

“Basically this trip was based on Governor Walker’s trade mission to China; we saw a huge opportunity,” she said. “Our two northern provinces have a lot of commonalities with Alaska — latitude, climate and there’s a huge opportunity in terms of short transit time between Harbin and Anchorage. Right now that’s 6 and a half hours and that presents a lot of opportunities for trading live seafood. That’s one of the things Alaska is famous for and it’s a prized commodity in China. We’re looking very much at exploiting that short transit and to work with other service providers and logistics opportunities to move trade both ways.”

Sui said there is a considerable push for non-farmed, non-GMO food in China, and Chinese consumers are willing to pay more for the kind of wild fish that’s abundant in Alaska.

She added that the threat of a looming trade war between the U.S. and China isn’t likely to dampen the warming between Alaska-China trade.

“We have to be aware of all the political ramifications — it affects business all over the world; it’s not particular to the U.S. and China,” Sui said. “We have to work with what we have but business will go on as usual… I think we will work through all of these (political) issues because whatever (those issues are), people have gotta eat.”