Governor Jay Nixon has finally spoken to reporters about last week's cancellation of a trip to Taiwan and South Korea.
He acknowledged that there were concerns his planned trade mission to Taiwan could have jeopardized negotiations with China to make Lambert Airport in St. Louis a major air cargo hub for Chinese imports.
"Leading a delegation of this magnitude, a foreign mission with a number of factors coming into play...as we continue to assess those factors, I just determined it wasn't an optimal time to do that," Nixon said during a press conference at the State Capitol.
The Nationalist Chinese government fled to the island of Taiwan in 1949. It democratized over the years, and in 2000 ceded control to a rival political party following elections. However, the Communist government on the mainland still considers the island government a rebellious province.
Taiwanese officials were to have signed a $600 million deal to buy Missouri products for five years. Governor Nixon says he hopes the trip can be rescheduled.