Chinese modesty, meet Virginia’s Governor Superlative
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Version 0 of 1. RICHMOND — It is the biggest deal Terry McAuliffe has pulled off so far as governor, the largest Chinese investment in Virginia history. But who is bragging? Not Tranlin Inc. The Chinese company, which broke ground outside Richmond this week on a $2 billion plant that will create 2,000 manufacturing jobs and churn out environmentally friendly paper, issued a news release for the occasion that was a model of understatement. “We try to stay low profile as Confucius taught us,” said Tranlin chief executive Jerry Peng. Chinese modesty, meet Governor Superlative. McAuliffe helped broker the deal and attended the ground-breaking with the exuberant swagger of a man who put an exclamation point in the title of his autobiography. Even before the governor got his chance to address the crowd of Chinese and local dignitaries, the force of his personality was bowling them over. Chesterfield County Administrator Jay Stegmaier kicked it off with an imitation of the governor, someone he had been watching closely as the Tranlin project has moved along. “I’ve learned something from him watching him over the past year, and I want to welcome you all to the greatest county, in the greatest state in America,” Stegmaier said to chuckles. And with that, a recurring laugh line was born. State Sen. Rosalyn Dance (D-Petersburg) welcomed those assembled to “the best, the greatest part of Chesterfield.” House Majority Leader Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights) gave props to “the greatest county in the world,” then introduced “the greatest secretary of commerce and trade,” Maurice Jones. When Jones wrapped up his remarks, he handed the podium over to “the greatest governor ever to walk the Earth.” McAuliffe kept the joke going as he talked up the project, which, among other things, will mean $50 million a year to farmers who sell corn stalks and other agricultural field waste to Tranlin. The company will turn that into paper products without the use of trees or environmentally damaging bleach, then make an organic fertilizer out of what is left after it extracts the fiber. [Chinese paper company to set up shop in Virginia suburbs] McAuliffe sprinkled his remarks with the “greats” and “greatests” that come naturally to him, as when he described visiting Tranlin’s greenhouse in China to see the fertilizer at work. “It was like ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ had visited, so we know this is the greatest fertilizer,” he said. And then there were a few extra “greats” tossed in for effect, as when McAuliffe thanked the Chinese for lending art for an exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts — “the greatest museum in America.” A string of Chinese dignitaries picked up on the theme, sometimes through heavily accented English, sometimes through translators, always at odds with their reflexive modesty. Zhu Hong, the minister of commercial affairs at China’s U.S. Embassy, opened by thanking McAuliffe, “The greatest governor in the United States.” And on and on, through Zhang Xuanyu, the deputy mayor in Shandong Province, and Tranlin’s president, Li Hongfa. “I was so touched by the wonderful speech by the greatest governor, the greatest minister, the greatest deputy mayor,” Li remarked. Was McAuliffe remaking Confucian society right before our eyes? “We’ve totally changed their culture,” he joked afterward. “I mean, the minister, I can’t wait until he goes back and translates this all back to Beijing. It’s a whole new world for the Chinese.” Jim Cheng, who attended the event and was secretary of commerce and trade when talks with Tranlin began under then-Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R), said the Chinese came away with this message: “In Virginia, we brag.” |