Hawken Graduate Looks to Bring Resurgence to Local Economy

David Yen '76 just might have the answer for Cleveland's lagging economy: China and its booming economy.

He and his father, Anthony Yen, brought the reality for area partnerships with the country one step closer when they recently invited and hosted China's U.S. ambassador, Zhou Wenzhong, for a two-day visit to Cleveland.

The ambassador's visit comes as Yen, the former executive director of the World Trade Center Cleveland, works to convince Chinese industry to invest in the Northeastern Ohio economy. China over the years has experienced tremendous growth in its economy, so much so that the country's government officials are encouraging businesses to continue the upswing by expanding into foreign markets.

And Yen thinks that Cleveland can be China's entry point for the rest of the United States.

The first step to that, Yen said, is to convince Chinese business and government leaders that Cleveland is more than a blip on the world map, but a viable place for business.

"Most people in China have never heard of Cleveland and if they do know about it, they don’t think about it in positive terms…They think about this area much along the lines as many Americas do: as [a] struggling rust belt city," he said.

"So we were trying to make sure that this ambassador was aware of Cleveland and aware of…its importance to China."

Why the Cleveland area? Ask Yen that question and he'll ask: "Why not?" and tell you the area is ripe for international development.

He said that Ohio and Midwestern companies like Procter & Gamble, Eaton, Timken, Sherwin Williams and Lincoln Electric are major players in Chinese industry and that over the years, the country has become one of Ohio’s fastest growing markets.

Ambassador Zhou had a tour of the Cleveland Clinic, which is considering opening a facility in Shanghai, met with representatives for Sherrod Brown, Dennis Kucinich and Stephanie Tubbs Jones, delivered brief remarks at a China business conference hosted by the Cleveland Council on World Affairs and the keynote address at the City Club and met with area business leaders.

While raising the visibility of the Northeastern Ohio area was key to get Zhou to see Cleveland's untapped potential, the partnership that Yen envisions with China is one where the county not only invests locally, but where Cleveland invests internationally as China continues to transform its own country.

"Our companies have products, solutions, services that the Chinese absolutely need and they're going to continue to need them for the foreseeable future," Yen said.

He envisions a bright day in Cleveland if his efforts were met with equally intense efforts of area government and business leaders.

"We have a chance to be at the forefront of this. If we are successful in building those relationships with the Chinese government and the Chinese companies and we can get some visibility for Northeastern Ohio, we could be a portal," Yen said.

"We could be one of those anchor locations that draw more investment from China than other locations [in the world]."