HUNTINGTON -- Local businesses got some information Friday afternoon that may help them find a new market for their exports.

A trade specialist from China visited with some of the Tri-State's major manufacturers at the office of the Huntington Area Development Council, providing information on market access, strategic issues and industrial regulations for companies that wish to ship goods there.

"Our mission is to promote U.S. exports to China," said Chen Ling, a member of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service for 12 years, who visited Huntington Friday along with members of the West Virginia Development office.

"We're here to talk about the economic growth there and the opportunities there, and see what their questions are," she said.

Ling specializes in general industrial equipment, environmental technologies, machinery, machine and industrial tools, chemicals and automotive, and said that many business people don't know very much about China.

"We're giving them directions, some marketing information, marketing reports, resources and Web site information," Ling said.

Both the state and federal governments have assistance programs that offer help with exports, said Debra Martin of the West Virginia Development Office.

"Unfortunately, they're not as well-known as we would like," she said.

China is the fourth-largest exports market for the United States, and Ling represents the Chengdu market in Southwest China, which has 200 million people.

Exports are a means to create more jobs, said HADCO President Jerry McDonald, and about five local companies gathered for the lunch meeting Friday to learn more about the Chinese markets.

In attendance were Troy Thomas from Allevard Springs, Dr. Hongwei Yu from Progenesis Technologies, Lake Polan II of Allied Logistics, Bryan Stepp of the Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce, Tim Duke of Steel of West Virginia and Danny Vance of Service Pump and Supply.

Polan of Allied Logistics said the meeting was a great opportunity.

"I'm looking for a partner in China because we do a lot of international freight," he said. "We compete against multibillion dollar internationals, and to compete, you have to form teams.

"This is a fabulous opportunity because there are resources that we didn't know were out there. We developed some contacts that will be very helpful to us in expanding our business."

Thomas of Allevard Springs said that although his company already has a plant in China, which would supply the country, the meeting provided some insights on exporting that could apply to other countries. He was thinking about exporting to European countries, where the exchange rate is favorable right now because of the high value of the euro.

"Rather than invest there, we could invest here and export," he said.

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