Make no mistake: we love the Phoenix Business Journal. Don Henninger, Patrick O'Grady and Ilana Lowery are heroes for Arizona and Arizona business. They are strong supporters of growth in the Valley of the Sun and beyond.
Sometimes there are missteps, however, and Saturday's online article entitled "China's influence creeps into Arizona's solar" is one of them. No one is 'creeping in' to Arizona except criminals under the radar of the law. China is not a criminal, and neither are the companies like Suntech that are locating here - at least not any more or less than American companies. The Chinese like Americans are people - for better and for worse. Broad brushing a country or set of companies as 'creeping in' to our state is just creepy, and wrong.
We need investment by foreign companies in our state. You can find out more why it's so important at www.gpec.org. GPEC like others in economic development for Arizona are heroes for our future. And they're certainly not allowing anyone to creep in. All companies and countries are welcomed with open arms.
You can read more about the positive impact that GPEC and others are having attracting companies to Arizona from around the US and the world on their website. And you can read Saturday's article in the Phoenix Business Journal and more commentary here: http://dougbruhnke.blogspot.com/2010/03/avoiding-anti-foreigner-sentiment.html
More good news: the anti-foreigner sentiment that I'm sure was unintentional in the Phoenix Business Journal article is fading away year-by-year in Arizona and the US. We're focused on long-term sustainable growth and increasing jobs with a broad industrial base that includes foreign direct investment (FDI).
All the best, Doug Bruhnke
Arizona International Growth Group (AZIGG)
