By Matthew Hoy
Record Staff Writer
VANDENBERG AFB—A delegation from China has come to the Central Coast to investigate trade opportunities with Silicon Valley and the Central Coast.
The group, consisting mainly of managers and directors of Aviation Industries of China (AVIC), spent Tuesday touring various sites at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
"Vandenberg has left a very deep impression on us," said He Yijin, vice director of the science and technology bureau for AVIC. "This center has made great contributions toward humanity's control of space."
The delegation is interested in Vandenberg's shift toward commercial space ventures, one that China is attempting to follow.
"According to the international situation, many hi-tech industries will be transferred from military to civilian applications," He said.
AVIC will also shift toward privatization in a China that is moving toward a market-driven economy. The Chinese-made Long March launch vehicle is considered by some in the industry to be in direct competition with the U.S. space launch business.
"They want to emulate a lot of our business practices," said Sandy Herman of the International Trade and Space Alliance. "They cannot better themselves economically without establishing a form of capitalism."
But the theme of this visit was sharing information. "Brig. Gen. (Lance) Lord has done a great job in promoting the openness of commercial space here," said Herman. "That's key and crucial to international trade."
"Mr. He has been to Russia three times and just came back after a three week tour," Herman said. "There's a big difference in the openness as far as what we are doing here."
For all of the positive signs, it will still be some time until tangible results are apparent.
It would be a minimum of two years before a Chinese payload would be lifted into space aboard an American-made rocket," said Albert Hakim, chairman of the board for Expand Trade International Affiliates, the sponsor of the visit.
In addition to touring places like Space Launch Complex 2 (SLC-2) and Astrotech's new Payload Processing Building, the Chinese also listened to presentations by various commercial firms.
"I think they were really taken back by the presentations," Herman said. "The openness was very astounding."
Today, the delegation was to tour the Western Commercial Space Center's Integrated Processing facility located at SLC-6.
While the delegation will spend much of its time in areas like Vandenberg and Silicon Valley, high-technology is not the only area the Chinese are interested in.
"We want to gather from local communities any product that would have trade value," Hakim said.
Organizers emphasized that, before substantial international trade can occur, there must be unity within the U.S. community to that end.
"The alliance is important," said Herman. "If we don't have the alliance you won't have the trade. The alliance comes first and that means establishing a relationship."
"Please understand what we're doing, show interest," Hakim said. "If we cannot create an alliance between the Silicon Valley and the Central Coast, I don't understand how we can achieve that in China.
"I would like to see interested businesses pay their visit back," he said. "They've been here three times, one trip back would send a signal."
Published Wednesday, July 27, 1994, The Lompoc Record.
