Governor Tim Pawlenty In China--Biofuels Symposium

Skip The Briefings And Walk The Streets

Today's first major meeting to which all the delegations were invited, was a political briefing. Media could attend but everything said was clearly "off the record." It struck your publisher that if everyone had skipped the "political briefing" and had the morning I did--all before 8 a.m.--the point of the meeting would have been made crystal clear.

Let me explain. To hit the gym this morning, I pushed the elevator button for the third floor below the lobby level. The elevator opened and I did a double take because I thought the time machine had kicked in and I was in the Amazon. There before me was an Olympic size (in length) swimming pool complicated by meandering side ponds and waterfalls surrounded by exotic flora and fauna. The ceiling was two stories high and tiny, star like twinkle lights were embedded in the ceiling.

I made my way through the jungle to the gym. Nice Chinese Young Man (NCYM) Number One opened the door for me so that I could cross the (yes, Brazilian teak wood) floors to get on an elliptical machine. After I got on an elliptical machine, NCYM Number Two, without any prompting from me, brought a towel and a bottle of water. Onto the bench press and I grabbed a twenty-pound weight to put on one side of bar, and out of nowhere NCYM Number Three appeared to put another 20-pounder on the other side then he insisted on spotting me. This was an average size, smallish (but opulent) hotel gym and I counted five different NCYMs working there, never mind the pool areas or the locker rooms.

Since I'd just had a free work-out in such a lovely gym I couldn't justify paying more than six bucks for a small pot of coffee at the Grand Hyatt when I could walk two blocks to buy a Starbucks Grande plain coffee for three dollars. Left the Starbucks and continued walking another two blocks past the main thoroughfares and hit a side street, which turned out to be like every other side street in this part of Beijing. Narrow, winding streets with small store vendors and small apartments packed on top of them with cramped and crowded apartments. Parents yelling at screaming kids. The air suffused with the smell of cheap and overused hot cooking oil--a smell I will forever associate with China.

All those little, mostly barren, shops. A woman hawking steamed noodles in broth for two Yuan. That's an American quarter. That's how 800,000 of China's 1.3 or 1.4 billion live. On less than one U.S. dollar a day.

And that was the "off the record" message in the political briefing. Don't forget that the vast majority of the people in China live in abject poverty. Some of them, just six blocks away from the pool and gym at the Grand Hyatt.

Minnesota And Pawlenty Running On Biofuels

The Minnesota Mission to China was timed to coincide with the second annual Biofuels Symposium.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty gave the keynote speech (at another five-star hotel, The Peninsual Palace) to about 125 scientists from all around Asia. The timing of his speech couldn't have been better. The three-person panel before him was opining on how long it would take to get going. Then Pawlenty told them how far Minnesota was going. Certainly Minnesota public policy makers know we lead the nation on biofuels (both ethanol and biodiesel). But, here's a newsflash. It appears we lead the world.

Four sidebars

First, critics of trade missions call them junkets. Today's biofuels meeting may shed some light on the subject. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture had an information booth and had translated some materials to distribute:

These materials got picked up and read by those attending this conference. Personal contacts were made. It was kind of cool to see all those scientists paging through the Minnesota stuff.

Sidebar number two

The most technical speech on biofuels was given after lunch by the woman in Minnesota agriculture known as the "Bean Queen," Kristin Weeks Duncanson. Duncanson and her husband run Duncanson Farms outside of Mankato. She is also the president of the Minnesota Biodiesel Coalition.

Sidebar number three

Here was this meeting's most compelling picture:

That's the back row of scientists listening to Pawlenty. Seemingly dull? That's two men and five women scientists. All of whom are wearing headphones (meaning they don't speak English and need the translation).

Finally, sidebar number four

In a passing remark, Pawlenty mentioned he's looking into methane digesters. That's technology that would turn cow gas into energy--a technology with a reputation for only being touted by those on the political left. This should make Rep. Ruth Johnson (DFL-St. Peter) happy. She is the first legislator to say, years ago, that Minnesota should start talking about methane digesters.

Affairs (Foreign) For Tim

In other meetings, Pawlenty had the kind of day most U.S. Senators would envy. First up was Ma Xiubang, Vice Minister of Commerce, who the Chinese call the dragon lady because she's tough. Then, Clark Randt, U.S. Ambassador to China and Yang Jiechi, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Most of the conversation was about federal issues, but Pawlenty's sense was that they understood he couldn't do much about some of them as Minnesota's governor, except to help raise awareness. The major issues for the Chinese are (1) they want investment in their country--but not from big oil companies; (2) they want to avoid the U.S. insistence on solving patent issues (Chinese companies like to violate them and there are few enforceable penalties); and (3) the U.S. needs to loosen 9/11 visa controls. Of course, these issues were not so bluntly phrased; rather they were delicately phrased on both sides through interpreters. When asked, Pawlenty says he likes talking through interpreters because it gives him more time to think about phrasing his answers.

The conversation (which happened over lunch) with Ambassador Randt, however, was in English, and the Randt's dog, Sammy, slept on his feet. Here's where Pawlenty's political skills need some honing: He could not name the breed of the dog. "Well, it was a little terrier-type thing with a big nose," he said.

China Bits & Pieces

Everywhere you look there are signs of how vast and cheap the labor pool is. Two striking examples: At a "Welcome to China" buffet dinner the night before, there were big oval platters of perfectly layered symmetrical rows of matching spinach leaves. Get a bag of spinach. You try it. It seemingly cannot be done, but it was. Ditto for the eight (yes, eight) exotic lily flower arrangements at the morning's political briefing. Slender leaves of grass were layered together in perfect symmetry. [Think back to today's first story. Each of these arrangements would have cost close to $200 a piece at Bachmann's, and yet six blocks away...]

People who have been to Beijing before keep talking about how the air is much cleaner. The city requires all of its residents to spend some time planting trees to help clear the air (both in the city and in the surrounding mountains). The Grand Hyatt has interesting new eco-friendly technology that even the seasoned world travelers had not yet encountered: to turn the lights on in the room, you have to insert your room key in a box and keep it there (which is also a great way not to waste time looking for that lost room key). But pop and beer cans still have the peel-off-and-discard openers that were banned in the states decades ago.

China on a Stick

People looking for new million dollar ideas for foods to put on a stick at the Minnesota State Fair perhaps should look to Beijing. Some brave (and all male) members of the Minnesota delegation have tried deep fried scorpions, snake and eel, but no one has worked up the guts to try sparrows on a stick.

Photo by Tom Grendahl

Surreal Moments In Time

The last event Monday night was a ceremonial "Minnesota--China Partnership" dinner which was held at the Great Hall of the People. The speeches were dull, the food was horrible. But I think we were all a bit stunned and overwhelmed to be sitting in the awesome building commemorating communism right there along side Tiananmen Square.