Charlotte's mayor hopes jobs will come from China trip

CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx said he is confident jobs will come from his recent trip to China.

Foxx returned to Charlotte on Sunday from a 10-day trip to drum up new business and market Charlotte as an energy hub.

He met with four Chinese companies, one of which is Jetion Solar.

Jetion Solar USA held its grand opening in Charlotte in July. Officials told Eyewitness News that they hope their assembly plant will be running by the end of 2011.

Foxx said he encouraged Jetion to expand its operations in Charlotte and encouraged the others to invest.

As for whether incentives would be involved, he said that bringing a company to a region is "a narrative process" that involves the state, county and city.

"We certainly didn't make any commitments on those issues," he said, "but we certainly want to see the investment happen."

Foxx said he used the trip to brand Charlotte as an energy hub and talked about the city's commitment to reducing its carbon emissions.

He said one Chinese company offered to donate solar technology to retrofit buildings in uptown and that another offered similar technology to reduce energy costs at Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools.

"Of course, I don't speak for the school system in terms of accepting those things -- but we can certainly extend the offer," he said.

Bob Morgan, president of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, said its economic developer for China, Eileen Cai, will be following up with the companies.

Cai joined the Chamber to help expand its international reach to China and other parts of Asia and traveled with Foxx on the trip, meeting with Chinese business leaders.

"We'll look for opportunities to host them in Charlotte," Morgan said, "and we look to build on these relationships to generate additional leads to build on what's already here."

Foxx's trip was paid for by the Charlotte International Cabinet, which has a budget for the mayor's international travel and receives some city funding.

WSOC