UCDC follows Marco Polo to China
The Great Wall, a great deal of building and a great opportunity for business.
That is what Lance Matteson, CEO and president of the Ulster County Development Corp., saw during his recent trip to China. He said that that in a global economy, even a relatively small county must think big when it comes to seeking opportunities such as investment capital, partnerships and places to export goods.
On the plus side: the New York name itself has tremendous cachet in China.
“I feel what it did was open up some doors to a lot more export to China for products from Ulster County and the Hudson Valley,” said Matteson. “A lot of businesses aren’t aware that doing business in China is really an option, and it isn’t as hard as people might think if you have the right contact and the right help.”
To provide that help, the New York Small Business Development Center has opened an office in Beijing to support New York state firms entering the Chinese market. And as Matteson points out, in a country of 1.4 billion people, garnering a mere 1 percent market share means having 14 million customers.
“The real mission was to help Ulster County business get opportunities in China,” Matteson said. “The global economy is not just a buzz word; it’s real and it behooves us to try and make it work for us.”
His two-week trip to China ended with his return to his Kingston office June 26. He traveled with the New York state Small Business Development Center (SBDC) director Jim King and SBDC international specialist Jinshui Jiang, both of whom return from Asia July 1. Ward Todd, president of the Ulster County Chamber of Commerce, was also on the trip.
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