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News Feature
by Anne Berleant “For some, the Chinese are this century’s central demon,” Eliot Cutler told a capacity crowd at the Unitarian Universalist parish house on Tuesday, January 10. However, despite China’s Communist backdrop, its people are “capitalist to the core,” Cutler said. He believes that U.S. cooperation with China is the “central political and commercial challenge of our time.” In addition, the appropriate response to the perceived threat from China’s rapid population growth is not hostility, Cutler holds, but “to forge goals of mutual benefit.” Cutler, a 2010 Maine gubernatorial candidate and a driving force behind political action committee OneMaine, spoke as a preview to the 2012 Camden Conference. The conference is an annual event whose self-stated mission is to “foster informed discourse on world issues.” Cutler’s talk, sponsored by Witherle Memorial Library, focused on the U.S. relationship with China. “In the 21st century, the U.S. must choose between confronting or cooperating with China,” Cutler said. “Which makes the most sense?” The answer, Cutler said, “is the middle course.” Cutler is the current chair of MaineAsia, a business development and consulting firm headquartered in Portland. From 2006 to 2009, Cutler lived in Beijing, where he opened an office for the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. Cutler was a partner at the firm before resigning to run for governor in 2010 as an independent. Cutler began OneMaine in 2011 to help rally those who believe that Maine politics need to be “more effective and less partisan,” and to “actively support candidates for the Maine legislature who are committed to finding pragmatic, sustainable solutions to the challenges that Maine faces, regardless of their political affiliations,” according to the OneMaine Web site. Cutler sees increasing Maine exports to China as a practical way to improve the state’s economy. The United States and China together will soon be responsible for more than half of the total world gross domestic product, Cutler told his audience, with the help of a PowerPoint presentation of charts and graphs. By 2040, the Chinese GDP will be around twice that of the U.S. and the largest in the world. And so, U.S. cooperation with the world’s fastest growing country in terms of population and economy is a necessity, Cutler said. Narrowing his focus, Cutler explained how Maine can reap benefits from building a business relationship with China. In fact, Cutler said, people from China and Maine share many of the same characteristics: they are hard working, family-oriented, motivated and place a high value on education. And China, Cutler said, loves Maine. From Maine to China in 24 hours The Chinese will pay $25 for a Maine lobster, frozen raw, in its shell, delivered to their homes within 24 hours of a click on a COFCO Web site. (COFCO is China’s largest food processor, manufacturer and trader.) Cutler said “tens of thousands of pounds” of lobster were shipped to China last year through Maine Seafood Ventures, a company formed to export lobster and other Maine seafood products to foreign markets. Cutler is a principal of the company. Maine lobsters are a brand, Cutler said, and the more Maine is seen as a brand, the more products, like wild blueberries—which already are being tested for marketing to China—can be sold internationally. Wood fiber is another product Maine is already exporting to China. Woodland Pulp, a Washington County mill, employs 300 people in a company that was about to close before being bought by a Chinese and Taiwanese company in 2010. While Maine-branded products flow out of the state to international markets, another branded Maine product brings people here: tourism. “Tourism is Maine’s biggest industry, and China is the fastest growing source of visitors to the United States,” Cutler said. “We ought to figure out how to package [Maine] for China.” In a question-and-answer period following Cutler’s talk, one audience member questioned the sustainability of Maine’s lobster harvest. “One hundred million or so pounds a year are at or close to the limits of sustainability,” Cutler said. “Do I think we should set limits on export? No.” Former State Senator Dennis Damon, who served as chair of the Marine Resources Committee at Maine Department of Marine Resources, was in the audience. He pointed out that 70 percent of Maine’s total lobster harvest is already exported, primarily to Canada, where it is processed and then sold internationally and to the United States, including Maine. “I am committed strongly to preserving coastal communities and the way of life in Maine,” Cutler said. “We’re not going to be able to do that without sustainable industry. Lobstering is the backbone.” Another audience member asked whether other states are in the same position to market their “brands” and products. For example, Vermont already has an office in China. “Vermont did a better job [than Maine] of sending its brand outside the United States,” Cutler agreed. Coming full circle, Eliot was asked how OneMaine ties in with the focus of the evening’s talk. His answer was, “Closely.” “What I’ve presented tonight is a moderate view of China-U.S. relations, and an aggressive view of the opportunities of Maine in that relationship,” he said. Achieving this requires a “pragmatic approach to politics that political parties are not offering.” OneMaine supports such an approach, by “trying to fill a void that has been created by two shrinking political parties,” Cutler said. Over time, Cutler said, OneMaine hopes to “pull the parties back to moderation.” Shortly after the audience began asking questions, the electricity went out. The response was moderate and pragmatic—those with flashlights turned them on, others lit candles and the event proceeded to its natural conclusion—a small example, one person noted, of how Mainers adapt as the world changes. |
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