Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger moved through a packed schedule on his
first official business day in China, from a morning speech praising a
Silicon Valley-designed solar chip as part of "the future" of energy
efficiency to a ceremonial dinner at the historic Great Hall of the
People.
Schwarzenegger, who arrived Monday for a three city trade mission,
used his first full day in Beijing to highlight renewable energy and
preside over a series of business roundtables with Chinese and
California business leaders.
He was set to address students at Quinghua University and host a
showcase of California products Wednesday before departing for
Shanghai in the evening. He heads to Hong Kong later in the week.
The day featured an announcement of at least one high-profile business
deal between a California company and a Chinese media partnership.
Mark Mosher of the California Commission for Jobs and Economic Growth
said an agreement had been struck between Alameda-based UT Starcom and
two Chinese media companies to deliver television over the Internet.
UT Starcom produces the delivery equipment; a partnership of Shanghai
Media and China Telecom will provide content and market the service to
Chinese subscribers.
Mosher was quick to emphasize that the deal had been in the works long
before Schwarzenegger's trade mission. But he said the publicity
surrounding the governor's visit prompted the companies to announce
the agreement here.
"This is going to be a huge deal" in China, Mosher said.
Schwarzenegger aides know not to hype business deals connected to his
trade missions.
After a 2004 trip to Israel, the governor boasted that he had struck
agreements to bring almost 1,000 jobs to California.
But officials at those companies later said they made the deals
without help from Schwarzenegger or his administration.
Earlier Tuesday, the governor promoted energy efficiency at a
conference sponsored by former President Bush and his public policy
school at Texas A&M University.
Bush introduced Schwarzenegger and described him as a "dear personal friend."
The governor's remarks came as China struggles to balance its
explosive growth with its energy needs and outsized power consumption.
The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that at least one major power
plant is completed in China each week - usually fueled by coal, which
produces high levels of air pollution.
Schwarzenegger praised an innovative solar chip - designed by Silicon
Valley-based SunPower Corp. and manufactured in China - as "an amazing
China-California success story" that had great potential in both
countries.
"This is the future, ladies and gentlemen," Schwarzenegger said,
hoisting the chip as cameras whirred.
Schwarzenegger's environmental record received mixed reviews in a
report last week by the Sierra Club, a nonprofit environmental group.
While praising his efforts to pass legislation promoting solar roofs
and his overall leadership on the problem of global warming, the
report concluded that "those achievements were overshadowed by more
potentially far-reaching, though less publicized decisions to aid
developers, energy companies, big corporate farms, and other polluter
interests."
Schwarzenegger and a 79-member delegation are on a mission to promote
California products and encourage Chinese officials to crack down on
rampant piracy of intellectual property - from movies and music to
pharmaceuticals, wine and designer apparel.
First Lady Maria Shriver kept her own schedule Tuesday, touring the
Maples Women's Psychological Counseling Center, which offers aid to
victims of domestic abuse in Beijing. The center, which receives no
government money, has taken 80,000 calls since its opening in 1988.
Shriver, who has promoted women's issues during her tenure, also met
privately with two clients of the center.
"I wanted to learn about the struggles of the women in China and the
struggle about starting a center like this," Shriver told reporters
after her visit.
The visit was considered significant because domestic violence and
other social ills are largely hidden from public view.
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