When he chose former aide Grant Tennille to head up Arkansas' economic development efforts, Gov. Mike Beebe didn't go with someone with a long resume of international business. But the first major test of Tennille's leadership at the agency will come next month, as Beebe heads to China on his first overseas trip as governor in nearly three years.

Beebe acknowledges that he didn't choose someone with the vast experience that the late Maria Haley had when she was hired as the state's economic development director in 2007.

"He apparently has an ability to deal with some of these headhunters and some of these job locators and some of the actual companies themselves in a way that the positive feedback I get back has caused me to believe that he has the ability to be very successful," Beebe told The Associated Press the day after announcing Tennille's appointment. "Is he a Maria Haley with all of the international experience? No, he'd be the first one to tell you that. But is he a good leader and good manager who understands economic development? Yeah."

Tennille, Beebe's former deputy chief of staff and communications director, also readily admits that he doesn't have the same experience as Haley, who died last September. Haley worked for Bill Clinton both as governor and when he was in the White House, and also served on the board of the Export Import Bank of the United States.

But he cites his experience working for Qwest Communications and a friend's startup company in Alabama as areas where he can relate with the businesses the state is trying to draw and keep in the state.

"I speak the language of a lot of the prospects that we have and I understand their challenges and their problems on sort of both ends of the spectrum, the large companies and the very small companies," said Tennille, who had been serving as interim director after Haley's death. "I do have experience. I don't have Maria's international experience, but what we do to try and compensate for that is make sure we are surrounding ourselves with people who have good experience in those cases."

How much that experience will help will be clear next month, when Tennille joins Beebe as he leads a 12-day trip to China. The trip, which kicks off April 4, was planned by Haley before she died last September.

The trip will take them to Arkansas' fourth largest trading partner. The state exported more than $336 million in goods to the country in 2010, and opened an economic development office there in 2008.

It also will mark a major shift for a governor who said he's tried to avoid international trade missions and prefers to stick closer to home. This is only Beebe's third international trip and his first since 2009, when he made separate trips to Cuba and Europe. The Democratic governor said Haley and others had been pressing him for years to make the China trip.

"They have finally convinced me that it's an important enough step that I need to personally be there as opposed to sending people, which is what we've done in the past," Beebe said.

During the trip, Beebe is scheduled to meet with at least eight different prospects. The governor and economic development officials won't say the companies the governor plans to meet with, but said it'll be a mix of different industries.

The agenda for the trip also includes a few familiar names, such as a car dealership owned by Little Rock native Mark McLarty and a Wal-Mart store in Beijing. Tennille points to the ties Arkansas has in China and other countries through Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Tyson Foods Inc., not to mention figures such as the Clintons, as assets that will help in working with international prospects.

"Arkansas doesn't travel the world alone," Tennille said. "We have lots of friends who are capable and willing to help, and we'll use them when we need them."