FGCU, Chinese city form alliance

Local business paired with Florida Gulf Coast University this afternoon to sign a Sister Cities agreement with a delegation from Yantai, China, forming an alliance between one another's "power house" economies.

"People are really realizing how impactful the world economy is," said Tammy Hall, Lee County commissioner. "It really does affect every aspect of your life from the purse that you purchase to the car that you buy."

The alliance will eventually lead to a student and faculty exchange program that will give FGCU students a Chinese perspective in the world economy and vice versa. Richard Pegnetter, dean of business at FGCU, said keeping an eye on China is the only way for businesses to keep an eye on the future.

"China is now one of the world's economic powers. They are on a path to achieving even more success," Pegnetter said. "The Chinese economy and the Chinese thinking is very competitive ...We got to keep ourselves growing and improving to keep ourselves competitive."

Student exchanges likely won't begin for a few years, but the sooner the "Chinese perspective" is in the classroom, the more prepared business students will be after graduation, Pegnetter said.