Schwarzenegger’s trip to China a sham?

Updated

Anold

Michael Hiltzik, of the LA Times, started a blog last month, called “Golden State,” which focuses on the state’s business and economy. Great to see new voices entering the blog world, and he’s off to a provocative start with his post on Schwarzenegger’s trip to China, which he calls a sham.

Great comments, in general, Michael. But we have nit with your criticism of Anold’s pitching for deeper U.S.-China business ties.

On Day Two of the Arnold Express, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, he brandished a solar chip marketed by SunPower Corp. of Sunnyvale, observing that it had been designed in California and manufactured in China. He called it “a symbol of unlimited potential that we can realize” (presumably together).

…Reading between the lines, that sounds like expansion of SunPower’s business will produce a handful of jobs in Sunnyvale, and hundreds or thousands in China. Is this a good deal for us?

Ok, sure, but this as an old question, and thought we’d…

moved beyond it. If SunPower can’t keep its costs down, via manufacturing in cheaper places like China and Philippines, it can’t survive economically, and then there are no jobs in Sunnyvale, right?

(UPDATE: And in solar, cost is a big deal. Here’s a post by Rob Day, who comments on SunPower’s IPO yesterday. Its stock price shot up by more than 40 percent.)

By the way, we (Matt, at least) are headed over to Shanghai next week to see what all this hype is about. I hope to blog a bit over there, so hopefully late-night bouts with energetic Chinese entrepreneurs won’t produce debilitating hangovers. Will probably be light posting.

UPDATE II: Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina is seriously considering running for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor next year, according to WSJ.