Gov. Beverly Perdue is not alone in China and certainly not in terms of elected officials from North Carolina, since 11 legislators are also there.
Senators Malcolm Graham (right with Alfred Liu, general manager of SAS' Beijing R&D) and Bob Rucho, of Charlotte; Floyd McKissick, of Durham; Joe Sam Queen, of Waynesville and Tony Foriest, of Graham, along with Representatives Lucy Allen, of Louisburg; Bill Owens, of Elizabeth City; Joe Tolson, of Pinetops; Jane Whilden of Asheville; Margaret Dickson, of Fayetteville and Wil Neumann, of Belmont are visiting as part of a program organized by the University of North Carolina’s Center for International Understanding. All are Democrats except for Rucho and Neumann, Republicans.
Graham said no tax dollars are being used to pay for the trip. Funding comes from Duke University as well as corporate sponsors AT&T, Longistics and SAS.
The group is participating in a few events during Perdue's trade trip, such as Wednesday's visit to a middle school, but also are making their own stops, such as SAS' Beijing R&D operation. Lawmakers are aiming to learn more about a country and culture with which North Carolina must compete for jobs and business.
"We don’t live in an isolated world anymore," Graham said. "We’re not just competing with South Carolina, Tennessee and Florida. We’re competing in a worldwide economy."
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