* I forgot about this campaign quote…

Before Bruce Rauner was elected governor, he crisscrossed the state touting his business acumen and vowing to travel the world on his “own dime” to recruit companies and spur investment in Illinois.

When then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry launched a campaign to poach companies from Illinois, Rauner said his fellow Republican was just “doing his job” because governors “should compete to recruit businesses and create jobs.”

“You know, this is not rocket science. Springfield is not some complex thing where you need an advance engineering degree to understand,” Rauner told reporters at a Chicago campaign stop. “This is common sense. This is people, this is negotiation.”

Yeah, that attitude sure served him well.

* Anyway, back to today’s Tribune story…

The [Asia trade] visit comes as Illinois seeks to land a manufacturing plant from Japanese automakers Toyota and Mazda, which includes plans to hire as many as 4,000 workers. DeKalb and Rochelle are said to be in the running, and economic development officials from those towns are among the governor’s delegation. They are joined by representatives of the state’s economic and commerce agencies, as well as officials from utility giant Commonwealth Edison and the University of Illinois.

The overseas trip was greeted as a welcome change of pace by the state’s business community, a group that widely backed Rauner’s bid for office as he promoted a wide-ranging economic plan he said would cut regulations and spur job growth. Little of that has materialized amid strong pushback from Democrats, who have blocked Rauner’s efforts to limit collective bargaining rights and overhaul the workers’

Pat Quinn got himself elected in part by helping Ford greatly expand hiring at its Chicago plant. That Toyota/Mazda facility would do wonders to resurrect Rauner’s prospects.

* This wouldn’t hurt, either…

Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the city’s bid to convince Amazon to build its second headquarters in Chicago will be an “all hands on deck” endeavor.

Although the mayor and Gov. Bruce Rauner have been at odds about most issues lately, Emanuel said city and state officials will be working hard to entice Amazon to open its second headquarters in the Chicago area.

Amazon expects to hire as many as 50,000 people full-time to work at the new facility over the course of several years, with an average annual compensation of $100,000 per employee.

“This is of a scale that’s different. Therefore it’s going to be Chicago, county, and state with one voice; and all the resources, all hands on deck, and all the creativity to that effort, and everybody’s going to be pulling in the same direction. That’s the one thing I want to be clear about,” Emanuel said.

* Press release from early this morning…

Gov. Bruce Rauner arrived in Shanghai, China, for the next stop in his first international trade mission of his administration. The Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) greeted the governor and the team of Illinois delegates working to build stronger business, cultural and educational relationships with its Asian partners.

“China and the United States enjoy a long-term friendship,” CPAFFC President Xu Kuangdi said. “I highly appreciate your decision of choosing China as one of your destinations at your first foreign visit as the Governor of Illinois. We must strengthen our friendship through more exchanges and cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, education, etc., to benefit our two peoples, and people of the world. Welcome to China!”

The CPAFFC is a national organization engaged in people-to-people diplomacy of China.

The governor also engaged in trade discussions with the vice chairman of Shanghai 12th Committee to discuss trade relations between China and Illinois. That was followed by an official reception at the Intercontinental Hotel in Shanghai.

The governor expressed the need for additional business opportunities, and he said the best way would be to expand trade, investment and economic relationships.

“I’m honored to be here because of the special friendship between China and Illinois,” Gov. Rauner said. “We have 400 Illinois companies in China creating thousands of jobs, and China has 60 companies headquartered in Illinois, including Wanxiang, Decatur’s Fuyao Glass and Bank of China in Chicago. We shouldn’t stop there. I’m personally committed to expanding this economic relationship to benefit the people of Shanghai and Illinois.”

The meeting began with a discussion of Shanghai’s financial position and economic strength in the world economy with the hope of building a more balanced export exchange, as well as growing from an industrial to a more innovative society. The governor and vice chairman expressed the importance of exchanging ideas and developing an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship and a pipeline of the next generation of global leaders.