Election-chastened California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Sunday left for China on a six-day visit aimed at boosting trade and investment and battling movie piracy, officials said.
The action movie hero, who was dealt the bitterest defeat of his short political career last week when voters rejected referendum measures on which he had staked his reputation, will visit Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong where movie fans are likely to give him a warmer welcome than he has had at home.
The trip marks the governor’s first trip to one of California’s biggest trade partners, to which the Golden State shipped nearly $6,8-billion worth of goods last year, according to the California Chamber of Commerce.
Schwarzenegger is accompanied on the key trip to Asia — California’s nearest neighbour across the Pacific — by his wife, Kennedy heiress, journalist and author Maria Shriver, and a delegation of around 75 business leaders and trade lobby groups.
Among the US companies who will meet with Chinese captains of industries and officials are fruit firm Sunkist, Walt Disney, Miller Brewing, Chevron Global Gas and Maersk shipping, according to reports.
The Terminator star will attend a premiere of the movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Shanghai on Thursday.
On Friday, the ”Gover-nator” is due to unveil a public service television advertisement with Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan that will attack copyright infringement.
The trip comes as Hollywood’s main trade lobby group, the Motion Picture Association of America, wages a global war against movie piracy which it says costs the industry up to three billion dollar a year.
On Monday, Schwarzenegger and Shriver are scheduled to attend an event to promote the Special Olympics and will also meet with China’s Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu at Beijing’s leadership compound Zhongnanhai, his office said.
On Tuesday, the governor is scheduled to attend a seminar on energy and sustainable development, while on Wednesday he will speak to science and technology students at Beijing’s Qinghua University. – AFP
