Chinese Visit Could Be Boon to O.C. Industries : Trade: In a 9-day visit, the Asian delegation is expected to place a bonanza of equipment and factory orders valued in the millions of dollars.

By CRISTINA LEE

Nov. 10, 1992 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

LAGUNA HILLS —

A delegation of high-ranking business and government officials from China arrived in Orange County on Monday as part of a trade mission to purchase millions of dollars worth of U.S. consumer goods and machinery.

The delegation’s shopping list is wide-ranging--from costume jewelry and cosmetic products to food-processing equipment and machines that make electronic components and auto tires.

“Some are one-time purchases, while others will be ongoing on an annual basis,” said Patrick D. Mulcahy, a director of America China Business Society, a nonprofit organization in Laguna Hills that is the host for the Chinese delegation’s nine-day visit in Orange County.

Zhong (Jonathan) Ding, managing director of America China and host of the Chinese delegation, said Chinese officials told him that at the end of their three-week U.S. trip they expect to sign $200 million worth of contracts, which the Chinese said is “a conservative estimate.”

“They want to buy technical packages that include hardware, manufacturing know-how and marketing guidance from the U.S. companies providing the technology,” Ding said in a telephone interview.

“The purchasing mission is a good economic Christmas gift to the United States,” he said.

The magnitude of the buying mission is large, he said, citing the following items from the delegation’s list:

* Food processors that can make a metric ton of ice-cream bars an hour.

* Machines that can turn out a million car and truck tires annually.

* As many as 100,000 white writing boards annually for schools and offices.

* An assembly line to make high-powered electric or electronic devices.

* About 800,000 car horns and related electrical devices annually.

The 21-member delegation represents 18 Beijing government development agencies, some government-owned companies and research institutes that represent the food, beverage, chemical, metal, electronics, energy and textile industries.

The Chinese interest in acquiring packaged technical know-how comes from past mistakes, Ding explained. When the Chinese government rushed to acquire Western technology in 1985 and 1986, he said, it bought entire factories and equipment--only to learn later that it did not know how to operate the production lines efficiently. That resulted in waste, he said, and many companies lost money.

“Now, they want the hardware . . . (and) the know-how in the manufacturing process,” Ding said. “They want to learn more advanced managerial concepts and methods through the acquisition of new technology entering the workplace. They also want international marketing guidance to help them package their products more attractively.”

The delegation’s visit comes at a time when the government of the People’s Republic of China is under pressure from Washington to open more of its market to U.S. exports and to reduce its swelling trade surplus with the United States. Last year, China--with a $12.7 billion trade surplus with the United States--overtook Taiwan to become second only to Japan in having the largest trade surplus with the United States.

As a result of increased exports and improved productivity, disposable incomes in China have been rising in the last few years, said Sherwin Chen, deputy director of the Los Angeles district office of the International Trade Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. For example, the average income of Chinese workers rose from a range of $261 to $418 a month about 10 years ago to $522 to $783 today. The incomes of workers in China’s booming coastal cities, such as Canton, Shenzhen and Shanghai, are considerably higher.

“China’s successful agricultural reforms and joint ventures with foreign companies have raised the income of many Chinese workers, allowing them to buy more consumer goods,” Chen said. “I was in China in the last two weeks, and their department stores are always packed with customers buying clothes, small household appliances and foodstuffs.”

The delegation is headed by a woman, Ren Zhimin, senior executive of the China International Science & Technology Promotion Council. The council is among a group of government agencies that guide that country’s technical advances.

The Chinese will be visiting Orange and Los Angeles companies to discuss business and possible purchases. The companies include Mission Energy Co., Boone International Inc. and Fluor Daniel Inc., all based in Irvine.

The delegation’s officials are from some of Beijing’s major concerns, including Beijing General Brewery, Beijing Chemical Industrial Group and Beijing Household Supply Corp. They leave Orange County for San Francisco on Nov. 17 and will spend five days in New York and Washington before heading back to Beijing.

Chinese Shopping Trip

A delegation of Chinese officials will be on a buying mission, spending millions of dollars during the next two months to purchase the goods, machinery and technology to enable them to produce a variety of products. Many items on the 1992 list may be purchased in Orange County. Consumer goods needed:

40 million to 100 million paper cups and plates

12 million meters yearly of nylon tape

A trunk line mobile radio telephone system

200,000 automobile batteries

5,000 tons of barbecue charcoal

50 sets of fire-detection sensors and devices

300 sets of cardiac monitoring instruments and devices

5,000 tons of global standard high-speed elevator guide rails

10 million disposable medical infusers yearly

Machinery to produce:

Hair-coloring, cosmetics and skin-care products

Ice-cream bars in standard retail sizes plus established brand names or recipes