ROCKVILLE, Md. (Map, News) - In an effort to stock its newest business incubator with Chinese technology startups, Rockville Economic Development Inc.’s executive director will travel to China next week for a series of meetings with government officials.

The 10-day tour is the first official trip to China for the organization, which is financed by the city government, and part of a larger effort to foster business ties between Rockville and China.

“If you want your economy to be aligned with where the future powerhouses are going to be, you work it now,” said Sally Sternbach, REDI’s executive director.

Sternbach will meet with officials in Shanghai, Beijing and Penglai City, where she will discuss opportunities to bring tech companies to Rockville. Rockville’s latest business incubator, the Rockville Innovation Center, is scheduled to open in May of next year.

REDI is focused on Chinese companies over India – which is considered the other overseas economic powerhouse – because of Rockville’s demographics, said Sternbach. About 15 percent of Rockville residents are Asian, according to U.S. Census figures.

But while the city is home to many American companies with offices in China, there are no Chinese companies with offices in Rockville, Sternbach said.

Despite the fact this is REDI’s first trip to China, Rockville and the state of Maryland have been pushing ties with China for some time.

For example, Rockville Mayor Larry Giammo traveled to China in 2004 as part of a state-sponsored delegation.

Officials from Penglai City visited Rockville last year and the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development has marketing offices in both Shanghai and Beijing.

But critics said the partnership will likely benefit China more than Rockville.

“I’m skeptical. There’s not a lot of technology that the Chinese have that we don’t already know,” said Peter Morici, a business professor at the University of Maryland. “It’s very different than if a Japanese company came over here with an automotive lab [that U.S. companies could learn from] we need to be careful about to what extent we’re giving away the family jewels.”

But even if Chinese startups leave once they mature, working with fledgling companies could be a foot in the door for U.S. companies, said John McClain, a senior fellow at the George Mason University Center for Regional Analysis.

“[American] companies are looking for alliances because it gives them a channel for selling their products over there,” McClain said. “Obviously it’s a huge consumer market.”

kwilmeth@dcexaminer.com