Former Republican Missouri Senator Kit Bond will lead a delegation of St. Louis-area business leaders to China later this year.

Bond's consulting firm that works on international trade will accompany regional and statewide businesses and academic institutions to China in December.

Tim Nowak, executive director of the St. Louis-based World Trade Center, says the trip is an opportunity to connect companies in Missouri with business partners, government entities and academic partners in China, which he says is one of the fastest growing export markets for the state.

"China consumes 8 percent of all of Missouri's exports," Nowak said. "It has gone from roughly $50 million in exports 15 years ago, to now we will pass more than $1 billion in exports to China."

In 2011, a package of tax incentives to help create a China cargo hub at St. Louis Lambert Airport failed to gain enough support in the Missouri legislature. 

Follow Julie Bierach on Twitter: @jbierach

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