Maine is eagerly looking forward to more investment, students and tourists from China, said Governor Paul LePage.
Paul LePage, a Republican elected governor in 2011, will complete his second term at the end of the year. He visited China on trade missions in 2012 and 2015.
“So many results have been achieved!” he told China Daily, singling out the access that Maine’s lobster producers now have to the Chinese market. LePage also expressed strong support for international trade in the interview at Maine International Trade Day on May 18 in Rockland.
As the largest international business event in Northern New England, this year’s event was themed “Global Trade’s New Era: Accessing Asia”, as Asia is a growing market for Maine business.
Another win was a big investment in the state’s paper industry – St. Croix Tissue in Baileyville got $120 million from International Grand Investment Corp, the US branch of a Chinese investment firm.
The money helped save the company and resulted in more than 80 new jobs at the mill and hundreds of jobs indirectly.