South Carolina, one of the original 13 colonies, has a population of about 4.3 million. A visit to South Carolina by a Chinese trade delegation may seem unusual but this is a necessary development. They signed a MOU- Memorandum of Understanding, with the state government. Harsco Track Technology, a West Columbia Co. and the Chinese Ministry of Railways signed an agreement, and the Governor applauded this announcement. This is for a $350 million contract over 4 years, and Harsco’s largest railway track maintenance and equipment sales contract in the division’s history! Governor Sanford has visited China twice and opened South Carolina’s first office there under the Department of Commerce. South Carolina exports to China rose 12-percent to $870 million. Chine also purchased machinery, cotton yarn and fabric, plastics, chemical and aluminum.

The City of Charleston is on the coast of South Carolina, with 120,000 people, or 600,000 in its metropolitan area. The city has developed into a major container port. There is a Bosch plant here- the German manufacturer of automotive parts and brakes. Nucor is a steel producer with a plant in Darlington, South Carolina. They use “mini-mills” which are electric arc furnaces, to melt scrap steel, not blast furnaces. They recycle 10 million tons of scrap steel in the United States. Nucor produced carbon steel in bars and various other shapes, in Darlington and other sites in Berkeley County. The Charleston also has NASCAR motor car racing, at the Darlington Raceway.