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By Casey Lister and Kun Shi U.S. companies exported
$71.4 billion in goods to China in 2008, up from $16.3 billion in
2000. The rapid expansion of China’s market is attracting widespread
attention, including that of the State of Ohio, which has seen an
increase in exports to China from 2000 to 2008 by 400% to
approximately $1.8 billion USD (see chart below). According to the
Ohio Department of Development (ODOD), exports to China in 2008 show
an increase of 21.4% over the same period in the previous year. As a
result of this increase, China was Ohio’s 4th largest export market
in 2008. The steady advancement of trade with China will continue be
an invigorating sector of Ohio’s economy.
Equally as important, the establishment of three Ohio International
Trade Offices in Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong signals Ohio’s
commitment to export products and attract direct foreign investment
into the state from China. (No other single nation has more than one
Ohio International Trade Office.) According to the Organization for
International Investment, one of every 22 jobs in Ohio is related to
foreign direct investment, with 48 percent of those jobs in the
manufacturing sector. Although China currently plays a minimal role
in foreign investment in Ohio, the potential is significant because
of China’s rapid economic growth and tremendous foreign exchange
reserve.
There are dozens of Ohio companies operating in China today. The
opening of branch offices in China is an indicator of the need for a
talented employee pool to fill future job opportunities for Ohio
companies both at home and in China. This pool of talent will need
to be well trained in Chinese language and culture, in order to
bring added value to business relations and development.
The OSU Chinese Flagship has been a pioneer in Chinese language
education, and Chinese Flagship again exercised its foresight in
developing a K-12 Chinese program in 2005, thanks to federal support
from the National Security Education Program. The K-12 Chinese
Flagship Program was established to provide technical support to
Ohio schools that are committed to offering Chinese. The goal of
this program is to build a strong foundation to prepare students in
anticipation of future academic and career opportunities.
Since the 2005-06 school year, the number of Ohio districts and
schools offering Chinese has risen from 8 to 69. The enrollment has
increased accordingly, from 490 in 2005-06 school year to about
6,500 in the current school year. More schools are planning to start
Chinese language programs next school year.
As the program develops and continues to be implemented across the
state, we look forward to working with Ohio corporations to provide
valuable insight to the program and support students as they embark
on the journey of becoming global professionals.
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