. . . in the past 12 months a wave of Chinese companies has shown interest in the manufacturing heartland of the Midwest for the first time. . . .

Anita Tang, managing director of Royal Roots, a Chicago-based US-China business consultancy, says: "In China I probably get inquiries three to four times a day. I think it's going to be overwhelming; that's why we're spending over half our time developing it." . . .

In the Midwest signs of serious interest from Chinese companies have prompted soul-searching in a region that is acutely aware of manufacturing job losses caused by competition from low-cost Chinese manufacturers.

Chicago has a tiny Chinese population compared with the west and east coasts, and the Midwest is still little known in China. The region has to work hard to attract the substantial Chinese investment that could come to the US in the next decade. . . .

With hopes that Chinese investment could rival the levels seen from Japan, there is concern that the Midwest does not miss out again, even if it means attracting funds from a country blamed for job losses in the region.

"The opportunity is there for the Midwest to become the rustbelt again so it's all about attracting the right new players," says Robert Collins, a senior executive at Aon, the Chicago insurance broker that was the first foreign company to secure a joint venture insurance broking licence in China. Aon recently secured Lenovo as a client.

Marshall Bouton, president of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, says: "It's already late. Chicago and the region need to be looking down the road five to 10 years when Chinese companies will start to come in greater numbers." Some are starting to address the issue. Six months ago former Illinois senator Adlai E. Stevenson was named chairman of the newly formed Midwest US-China Association, whose mission is to attract Chinese investment into the Midwest. In December Chicago mayor Richard Daley led a delegation of businessmen, including executives from Boeing, the aerospace and defence group, and JPMorgan Chase, to Shanghai as part of a new "Shanghai-Chicago Dialogue". Chicago's two futures exchanges have been forging ties with the Dalian Commodity Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange. . . .

Tian Dei You, commercial counsellor at China's consulate in Chicago, says a shared interest in manufacturing will continue to drive Chinese companies to the region: "China and the Midwest are really complementary, that's why so many Chinese companies are interested in coming here."

Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander often relates the story of when, as a newly elected Governor of his home state in 1979, he and his peers met with President Jimmy Carter. Carter told them to visit Japan and persuade the Japanese "to make in the U.S. what they already sell in the U.S." In short, "ask for the order."

Alexander took the challenge. He led a consortium of business and political leaders to Japan, selling the advantages of locating manufacturing facilities in Tennessee.

Sure, he received the usual carping from editorial writers and political opponents about “wasteful junkets.” He was criticized for trying to attract companies like Nissan to come to a state which at the time had never manufactured a single car before.

Nissan indeed made the decision to build a truck plant in Smyrna, Tennessee. They were following not long after by tire maker Bridgestone. Other non-auto related Japanese companies came, including Sharp. Following the lead of the Japanese, U.S. companies such as General Motors’ Saturn Corporation and semi-truck maker Peterbilt Motor Company decided to build plants in Tennessee.

To date, Nissan North America has produced 4 million vehicles from two different Tennessee plants. Almost 160 Japanese-owned facilities have invested almost $10 billion in Tennessee and employ about 42,000 people.

Tennessee ranks fifth among U.S. states in automobile production and sits right in the center of what is now known officially as the Southern Auto Corridor. Roughly 159,000 Tennesseans are employed in the industry, accounting for 38 percent of the state’s total manufacturing base.

The state is home to more than 1,000 automotive suppliers. About 400 of those suppliers have announced plans to expand their existing facilities, representing additionally capital investments of approximately $1.1 billion.

We have contended for some time that Chinese foreign direct investment in the U.S. is poised to expand significantly over the next decade. It’s time to “ask for the order.”

It takes forward thinking, independent-minded leadership to be sitting in the Midwest, a region hurt by the loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs, and actively court investment and trade with China. Their efforts will bear fruit. Congratulations to those Midwestern leaders.