New doors may open in China
WASHINGTON, DC -- Wichita calls itself the Air Capital of the World, but that world is becoming more interconnected, with outsourced jobs, planes made up ofparts that come from around the globe, and new markets thirsting for, and competing with, the products Wichita offers.
Those quick-changing realities underscore why Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said last week that she's going to China on a business- development trade mission. It's why Kansas operates trade offices in Great Britain, Mexico, Taiwan, Japan and China. And it's why I've been away from covering Washington for the past six weeks, and why I'm in China for the next five, starting today in Beijing.
Since Labor Day, I've been part of a journalism fellowship program offered through the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C.
The International Reporting Project is designed to give journalists training and experience in overseas reporting that will help them better serve their readers.
Journalists participating in the program are going to India, Nigeria, Lebanon and other nations. I'm spending five weeks in China, an emerging manufacturing powerhouse, to explore the development of an industry that poses both great opportunities for and serious challenges to Wichita aviation.
As China develops, local aerospace companies are hoping the country will emerge as a huge new market for the business jets and personal aircraft Wichita builds best. The country is already providing a huge boost to Boeing through its 787 orders, and as China's newly rich business community grows in wealth, potential sales for Raytheon, Cessna and Bombardier are breathtaking.
But the country could also pose a challenge, through the development of its domestic manufacturing capability. Some worry that China could eventually take away American jobs in aerospace at the same level it has in textiles and other industries. How China develops as an aviation marketer and manufacturer is a crucial question for Wichita's industry in upcoming years.
That's the project. I make no claim of being an expert on these topics. I'm working with just a passing knowledge of aviation learned from writing for The Eagle and an interest in learning more about what's important to Wichita.
And that's where you come in. If you were in China for five weeks learning about its aerospace industry and how it might affect Wichita, what would you want to know? When you think of globalization and how it affects industry, what do you wonder about? Or worry about?
I'd like to hear from you. China's half a world away, and 13 hours ahead of Wichita, but I'm still reachable at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). I'm also writing a blog called "Beyond the Yellow Brick Road" found at Kansas.com that will offer regular postings and impressions of China for the next five weeks -- what's happening now and what might happen next.
I'm excited about the trip. The weeks of seminars, the intense Mandarin training and a few painful immunizations make me ready to get on with it. So, with allergy pills, phrase book and laptop packed, here goes the adventure. It just goes to show how covering the Air Capital creates windows to the world.
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