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Keynoting the symposium was John Watkins (Vice President for Cummins and Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China). His argument:

China's rise is both a threat and an opportunity.  It has the potential to bring out the best or the worst in both societies.  The risks of China's rise are real---but less threatening than most think and the opportunities are far greater than most can envision.  American stakeholders who want improvements in the trade and overall bilateral relationship will be better served by focusing more time, energy and resources on maximizing our opportunities through a solution-oriented, innovative and can-do winning attitude and approach---in the way President Kennedy challenged Americans  to think big and go after an audacious goal.  To use a sports metaphor, we have to play offense as well as defense.

One principal theme of Sagamore's event was how to mobilize the hundreds of Indiana organizations connected to China - companies big and small, Chinese-Hoosier ethnic associations, universities and nonprofits, local and state government agencies - to promote trade and investment opportunities in a way similar to Governor-led economic development missions to Japan in the 1980s. Increasing the number of these connections and making them thicker and smarter will be the key to Indiana's China Edge.

	Economic Relations between Indiana and China Business Links New Thinking		Indiana-China Connections Human Connections Need for More Connections