Phil Castle, The Business Times

Bill Huang looks around the Grand Valley and sees the potential for increased trade between the region and Taiwan. That includes everything from beef to bicycle components to tourism.

Huang, director general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Denver, was among the officials who participated in a trade and export summit. The event was billed as “The World Comes to Grand Junction.”

The Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce joined with the Grand Junction Economic Partnership, Business Incubator Center and State Rep. Matt Soper in staging the event.

In addition to Huang, representatives from Canada, Japan, Mexico and the United Kingdom also attended.

“I’m very glad to have this opportunity,” Huang said in an interview with the Business Times.

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Denver serves as the de facto consulate for Taiwan in Colorado as well as Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Huang oversees efforts to promote trade and investments between the six states and Taiwan as well as cultural and educational exchanges.

The East Asian island nation of nearly 24 million people ranks among Colorado’s top trading partners, Huang said. Taiwan is a top export market for beef, while supplying computer chips and electric machinery. Colorado and Taiwan are business partners in the agriculture, aerospace and defense sectors as well as the information and communications technology industry. “It’s a mutually beneficial relationship.”

There’s potential for more trade between Taiwan and Colorado, including the Grand Valley, he said.

Prospects might include bicycle components, he said. Giant Manufacturing, one of the largest bicycle designers and manufacturers in the world, is located in Taiwan.

There’s potential as well for functional textiles and other goods manufactured for outdoor recreation, he said. “That’s something we could do together.”

Still other possibilities might involve solar energy and other forms of sustainable energy, he said.

Huang also sees the potential for increased tourism from Taiwan to Colorado and the Grand Valley — as well as the reverse.

After meeting with students from Colorado Mesa University during his trip to Grand Junction, Huang said he’d be interested in bringing back academic exchanges.

Part of the process is to increase awareness and make connections that lead to more trade between Taiwan and the Grand Valley. “I want to put Taiwan on the map and vice versa.”