Let's stop calling Asia, and China specifically, an "emerging market." Asia is a "growth market" that has become the greatest economic opportunity of all time.

Being a business leader, I am sure that you realize how huge the Asia opportunity can be for your company. And if you know me, I am fact-based and eager to capture the growth potential of Asia. So consider these facts:

• China is the largest consumer market in the world for automobiles, bikes, luxury goods, mobile phones, motorcycles and shoes. It is second-largest for consumer electronics, home appliances, internet use and jewelry. This is not potential - this is right now!

• Nearly 49 percent of all shipping containers going to or from Asia never leave Asia. Intra-Asia shipping is more than 25 percent larger than all North America to/from Asia and Europe to/from Asia combined.

• Exports from China have grown 25 percent per year since they joined the World Trade Organization (2001).

• In a recent Tompkins survey of 346 American companies doing business in China, 79 percent reported that they were profitable or very profitable, 87 percent reported revenue growth in 2010, and 71 percent expect to increase revenue in China by more than 10 percent in 2011.

To learn more about the survey findings, read the China Business Report.

Source: Tompkins International