Improved U.S.-China collaboration in science, technology, education and economic development.

That was the theme of the 17th annual Chinese Association for Science and Technology convention held for the first time in Utah on Saturday.

The late afternoon and evening event, at the Little America Hotel, featured a forum for exchanging ideas with various experts in U.S.-China relations.

Brett W. Heimburger, Asia director for the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development, said China is the fastest-growing export market for the U.S. He also believes China will have the world's largest economy by 2040.

"Anytime you talk about China, the numbers are staggering," he said.

Heimburger said China can be an important partner for companies with both supply and distribution. "For the companies that do it right, the payoffs can be enormous."

Densen Cao, president and CEO of Cao Group, said there are significant differences in doing business in China vs. the U.S. For example the registration process in China is cumbersome and a large bank account is required.

Ernest Volinn, a research professor at the University of Utah, said there are huge pharmaceutical opportunities in China. For example, diabetes is more prevalent in the China than the West. Back pain medicines could also be marketed heavily in China.

He said since Americans spend $21 billion a year on alternative medicines, so traditional Chinese medicines also have large opportunities here.

Regarding the safety issue of Chinese products, Cao said consumers only know the end result. "There are a lot of factors behind the safety of products," he said, believing a better collaboration between U.S. and Chinese governments on safety is probably the best solution.

On a loss of U.S. jobs to China, Heimburger said there is no question a lot of manufacturing jobs in the U.S. will be lost. But, since U.S. unemployment is so low, it isn't a disaster.

Also, as Chinese labor costs increase, they won't remain as competitive in the future. Still, many products imported from Japan and Taiwan decades ago, now come from China.

Awards for improving U.S.-Chinese collaboration were given to Michael K. Young, president of the University of Utah; Dr. Erlend Peterson, associate vice president of Brigham Young University; David N. Sundwall executive director of the Utah Department of Health; Heimburger and Cao.

More than a dozen high-ranking Chinese government officials were also in attendance.

Information on CAST is available at www.castut.org, or at www.castusa.org.

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