A LOS ANGELES TIMES - FINANCIAL...

The California economy produces more goods and services annually than Canada. And with each passing year, its prosperity becomes increasingly linked to its success in the global economy. As the state approaches a new millennium, it faces challenges that will help determine whether it will become an even bigger economic force in the world or whether it will fade amid mounting problems at home. Financial Times correspondents, based both here and in capitals abroad, give their impressions on the California economy through a special lens.

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California has a special place in the hearts--and stomachs--of Hong Kong residents, many of whose forefathers migrated to San Francisco (dubbed the “No. 1 City”) back in the days of the Gold Rush.

Hong Kong is California’s ninth-biggest export market and its residents are the biggest consumers per capita of the state’s Sunkist oranges.

The trading relationship goes both ways. Hong Kong, like California, is a gateway to a far bigger region, and the number of alliances is big and growing.

“California has made a deep impression, and its name has been carried widely to this part of the world,” says Robin Chiu, who ran a real estate and clothing business in Los Angeles and is now an assistant executive director with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

“Tradewise, we know California quite well. (And) there are close to 1 million Chinese Americans in California, so the cultural heritage is there.”

Such people act as cultural bridges, being attuned to Asia and having friends and relatives in both Hong Kong and the United States.

Today’s generation of Hong Kong entrepreneurs is more excited by the state’s high technology--in information, medicine, science, engineering and aeronautics--than its illusory gold.

But wooed by the relative stability of the United States and the opportunities that California is still perceived to offer, they also look to the state for investments in real estate and small businesses.

“When it comes to investment, Hong Kong people feel more comfortable going to California than to other countries,” Chiu says.