"Just about any other governor, maybe with the exception of (California Gov.) Arnold Schwarzenegger for different reasons, probably wouldn't be able to get these meetings," Heimburger said.

Huntsman is an exception because of the contacts he made as a U.S. trade ambassador to the region.

"He's very well-known within the central government," Heimburger said. "For his trade mission, people are willing to pull out all the stops."

One member of the delegation, Utah House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, ran into difficulty at the Peking Airport because he did not have a visa to enter the country. Some diplomatic strings were pulled, and Curtis and his wife were expected to join the delegation later today.

The governor had his own travel problems. He arrived about four hours later than expected in Beijing due to mechanical problems with the commercial airliner that kept his flight grounded in San Francisco. Although a number of businesses participating in the trade mission were also on that flight, others had already arrived on earlier flights.

Bradford Richardson, Usana Health Science's executive vice president for the Asia Pacific region, came early to meet with company staffers here. He said even though he has been coming to China since 1993, participating in the trade mission is useful.

"It's good to show up not as an individual company looking for something," Richardson said.

He and other representatives of Utah's nutritional supplement and personal care product industry met Monday with officials from the State Food and Drug Administration of China.

It was a "chance to be cooperative with the government in setting standards for the industry as a whole," Richardson said. "The thing people have to understand is China is a country of relationships."

Salt Lake-based Usana, which posted more than $320 million in sales last year, seeks approval to engage in direct marketing in China. The Asia Pacific market, including Australia and New Zealand, already accounts for about one-third of the company's sales, Richardson said.

Another Utah direct-marketing company, Nu Skin Enterprises, has already been given the go-ahead to begin a similar operation in China. Nu Skin, which has been selling its products through stores here since 2003, is one of only two American companies so far able to directly market products in China.

"It's important for them to get to know these officials," Heimburger said of the company's meeting Monday with China's version of the FDA. "Natural products are a huge Utah industry ... and we want to establish a partnership."

Any question that the Chinese are not embracing Western culture is erased as soon as international travelers arrive at the capital city's airport, where they are greeted by bustling Starbucks and KFC outlets.

And just like in Salt Lake City in the years leading up to the 2002 Winter Games, companies like Air China advertise their sponsorship of the upcoming Olympics in Beijing. Signs promoting the theme of the 2008 Summer Games, "One World, One Dream," are displayed throughout the city.

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E-mail: lisa@desnews.com