"I think it's the wave of the future," said Sanford, in Charlotte on Tuesday for a meeting with business, education and economic development leaders. "Resources used bidding against each other cannot be used to deploy that headquarters from Chicago."

The nonprofit Charlotte Regional Partnership has pioneered the concept of regional cooperation, and members were eager to share their vision with Sanford.

South Carolina's expansive corporate tax incentives and aggressive recruiting are both admired and resented by economic developers in North Carolina.

The states compete for many projects, often by cutting property and income taxes and offering job training, infrastructure and other grants. Cooperation has been limited mostly to local efforts such as the regional partnership, which would like to see the two states cooperate even more.

Mike Shalati, the manager of Union County, N.C., urged Sanford to back legislation that would make it easier for counties on both sides of the border to split the costs and benefits of new projects.

"It's not some game where if one wins, the other loses," Shalati said. "We could all win. North and South Carolina and the whole country. It's so much cheaper to find regional solutions to local problems."

Sanford said he has met with his Republican counterpart in Georgia, Gov. Sonny Perdue, to discuss economic development. He said he had no plans for a similar meeting with North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley, a Democrat.

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