Schwarzenegger leaves behind budget, economic mess as he heads to Asia for CA trade mission

Schwarzenegger heads to Asia for promotional tour

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — With California’s economy stuck in a rut, no sign of a deal to solve the state’s $19 billion budget deficit and his own approval ratings at an all-time low, who could blame Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for wanting to get out of town?

The Republican governor, increasingly overlooked as the two candidates vying to replace him claim the spotlight, begins a weeklong trade mission Thursday to China, Japan and South Korea. The trip will give him a temporary reprieve from the messy business of governing the nation’s most populous state.

In Asia, Schwarzenegger can concentrate on what he does best — using his outsize personality to market California.

On Wednesday, he reminded supporters during an event to promote the trip that when he ran for governor in 2003, “I promised the people of California that I would be the salesman-in-chief.”

He claimed the excursion could be a salve to the state’s economic woes, noting that the need for more revenue coming into the state has been a leading topic in budget negotiations between himself and the four legislative leaders.

California remains without a budget for the fiscal year that began July 1; while more funding cuts are inevitable, Democrats want to raise some taxes and Republicans want to make deeper cuts to state programs.

“What is the right thing to do is to go on trade missions like this, and to go and to sell our products worldwide because it will stimulate our economy, it will put people to work, and it will create more revenues for our state,” he said after a tour of Marvell Semiconductor Inc.’s headquarters in Santa Clara. “So that is the creative and the better way of creating more revenues for our state.”

Schwarzenegger’s scheduled meetings in Asia are a mix of diplomatic discussions, promotions of California goods and technology, and appearances in photo-ops for the Special Olympics and with U.S. troops in South Korea.

Schwarzenegger also will ride the high-speed rail systems in all three countries as a way to generate interest in California’s own planned route to link Los Angeles and San Francisco. He said he wants companies there to make bids on the project to help drive down the cost and “get this very creative financing going.”

In 2008, California voters approved selling $10 billion in bonds to help pay for a high-speed rail line that is expected to cost at least $42 billion when completed. It would transport passengers the 430 miles between the two cities in less than 3 hours, while also making connections in the Central Valley and Orange County.

Before voters approved bond money for the rail system, Schwarzenegger twice signed legislation postponing the ballot measure. He also had concerns about the stability of the project’s financing.

Schwarzenegger’s office said part of the trip will be devoted to promoting California’s agricultural exports. Japan, China and South Korea are the third, fifth and sixth-largest export destinations for California agricultural products respectively, according to the governor’s office.

The state’s agriculture, business and transportation and labor secretaries will accompany the governor, along with about 100 business leaders and officials with the California Chamber of Commerce.

Schwarzenegger said a similar 2005 mission to China already has produced results: for the 2008 Olympics, California strawberries were legally imported to Beijing for the first time.

He also said a Mexican ban on California spinach was lifted after a trip there in 2006.

The private, corporate-funded California State Protocol Foundation, which is run by Chamber of Commerce officials, is paying for the trade mission. The Los Angeles Times has reported that the foundation recently received a $550,000 donation for the Asia trip from the e-commerce retailer Alibaba Group, which is partly owned by Yahoo Inc.

Schwarzenegger will meet with Alibaba chief executive Jack Ma during his first day of official appearances on Saturday. The company also acquired two California e-commerce companies this summer.

The governor has visited Canada, Chile, Israel, Jordan, Hong Kong, Japan and Germany since taking office in 2003. This week’s travel marks his 15th trip outside the country, his office said.