China Blog

There's more to China than the Olympic games. There's a booming economy and a diversified manufacturing sector producing everything from cars and scooters to ATVs and motorcycles.

That's why Matthew Camp and I are heading to China Oct. 6. Matt is an analyst with Power Products Marketing, the Minneapolis research firm that tracks retail sales of power equipment such as motorcycles and ATVs. We'll tour the Canton Fair, a huge international show for manufacturers and suppliers, and we'll visit factories and meet with U.S. diplomats and Chinese and Taiwanese business executives to discuss changing business conditions and learn how they might affect markets in North America.

We'll be posting to this blog regularly, starting late in September as we make last minute arrangements for the trip. We'll provide you with brief reports in words and pictures as we travel the country. We expect to learn a lot about Chinese companies and their plans for North America, and we'll share our insights, observations and forecasts with you.