Huntsman agreed. In fact, the governor said, in the narration he recorded for a promotional film about Utah tourism that will be shown during this trip to travel officials, the state is identified as somewhere between Las Vegas and Yellowstone National Park.

Tong said that Utah does have something unique to offer — a governor who is at ease with the language and the culture. Huntsman is apparently the nation's only governor who speaks Mandarin, the language of China's government, business and educational elite.

"The Chinese in general are impressed if a foreigner can use chopsticks and speak Chinese. They know it is a difficult language," she said. "That will really win the governor some points, but how much, I don't know."

Diplomacy — and family

Kirk Jowers, head of the U.'s Hinckley Institute of Politics, also said that Huntsman's ability to communicate with the Chinese will make a big difference in how the state's efforts are perceived.

Jowers, who traveled to China and other parts of Asia for the first time last month to help set up a new internship program that will place U. students in government offices there, said the governor "is incredibly well-situated to make this a big boon for the state of Utah.

"He does very well with foreign officials due to his background," Jowers said. Not only has Huntsman served as a diplomat in Asia, he and his wife, Mary Kaye, also adopted a baby girl in China in 1999.

"The Chinese will be so impressed to have this governor come in speaking fluent Mandarin. He has a Chinese child," Jowers said. "They will feel he is truly interested in and respectful of the Chinese culture, and business and political customs."

Huntsman had hoped to bring his wife and their adopted daughter, Gracie Mei, now 7, along on this trip. But because plans to adopt another daughter, in India, have been delayed, they will stay behind.

Opening doors

The business leaders traveling to China hope to take advantage of whatever doors the governor can open. "Title means a lot in China, and having the governor there in China is wonderful," Wencor President Russell Adamson said.

The Springville-based aircraft parts distributor will announce a new joint venture with a Chinese company, Huaseng Science and Technology, during the trip. China already accounts for about $2 million of the company's annual sales of nearly $150 million.

With Huntsman there, Adamson said Wencor "will have much, much higher access to key individuals than we would have on our own. It will give us credibility in that market.... It makes a huge difference."