The following information is offered for your review and relates to the upcoming US-China Meat Trade Delegation currently set for May of this year. We would appreciate it, if possible, if the following information might be conveyed to the membership of your group for their consideration in attending. The delegation represents a genuinely good opportunity for food processors to lay the foundation for future business in and with China.

If additional information is required, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thanking you for your consideration, I am,

Sincerely,
Mary Cashman

US-China Meat Trade Delegation
(All of the following information, as to the itinerary, is tentative and will be made final upon the receipt and processing of participants' information.)

INTRODUCTION: We have been asked to visit China, with a group of delegates, interested in the development of the country's food (mainly meat) processing sector. Our invitation comes from high-ranking officials within both government and industry. We will be requested to attend state- and industry-held banquets and functions. China's meat sector is interested in developing a system that incorporates what they've come to call 'Good Management Practices' (GMP) wherein the production/processing of meat and other food products is done in a uniformly sanitary manner for the purpose of expanding their regional export market competitiveness (this includes the expansion of distribution within China). We are also planning to attend the Fuzhou province investment fare which will be in process at the time of our visit.

PURPOSE: Doing business in or with China is not as 'straight-forward' as it would be, for instance, as doing business in the West. It requires introductions and communication well in advance of any transaction. Our trip to China will provide the introductions necessary on which to build relationships for future business and will involve visits to production areas. We will also do what we can to facilitate business relationships after we return to America.

ITINERARY: As it stands, we plan to meet on the evening of 13 May 2003 in the San Diego Airport Hyatt to discuss business etiquette and protocol while in China. We expect to leave San Diego on 14 May 2003 and fly directly to Shanghai, where we will meet our hosts in that city. While in Shanghai, we will meet with the Shanghai Commercial Bureau. That agency is responsible for all wholesaling and retailing of food in that province. (The Shanghai market is made up of some 21 million, the vast majority of whom are very affluent and discriminating buyers.)

From Shanghai, we will fly south to Fuzhou province, where officials have expressed interest in televising our visit. We will visit hog operations in
Fujian province, wherein Fuzhou produces some 1.2 million hogs annually. We will visit other regional facilities in Fujian; locations that are strategically located with respect to transportation. As indicated previously, we will attend Fuzhou's investment fare during the course of our stay there.

From Fuzhou, we will take the 90-minute drive to Quanzhou, also in Fujian, where officials in that city have asked that we spend at least two days. Some new, modern breeding facilities have been built just recently to serve the hog industry. Our visit to Fujian will include visit(s) to those facilities.

We will return to Shanghai, from Fujian, to exit the country. Our return to the state will be approximately 24-25 May.

Again, the foregoing travel plan will have to be finalized by our contacts in China, once we have more information on our delegates' expectations and the availability of our hosts.

The following is a revised synopsis for the US-China Meat Trade Delegation:

We have been invited to attend a very high-level banquet, in Shanghai, on 16 May. We will lose nearly three days in transit, over the course of the trip, so the start date has been amended to accommodate the latest invitation. The trip fare (which has yet to be determined, but appears to be in the vicinity of $5,100.) will include air fare to China and return to the states; air fare through China; all lodging; ground transportation; the service of translators; most meals and entertainment.

When attending evening dinners or state-run functions, it's recommended that men wear jackets and ties, women wear dresses or pantsuits. For daytime functions, casual clothing is acceptable. Light, summery-type clothing is appropriate since it will be warm in the south of China in May.

It is necessary that delegates have business cards: It is recommended that one side be in Chinese, the other in English. This may sound 'harsh' but you are NOBODY in China without a business card. If delegates need assistance in having cards translated/printed, please let Mary know. She will be happy to help. Chicago has a central Chinatown district and it will be no trouble arranging for the cards there. They can be brought to San Diego for distribution or, if preferred, sent out to delegates in advance of 13 May.

For the time being, we have to have the names of delegates not later than 26 February, in order to have the Chinese consulate in Shanghai send our invitation. An official invitation is necessary in order to appropriate visas from the Chinese embassy.

Mary Cashman will appropriate the visas for those delegates who wish, but that will require we receive the following:
a valid passport -- and one which is good for a minimum of three months after the trip date;
two additional passport-sized photos;
completed visa applications.
Full details, including delegate application; questionnaire; and visa application will be sent out to each attendee once we have received preliminary information. Attached is a cursory application, with the most basic information, that will facilitate our ability to secure the necessary letter of invitation.