INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels says his 12-day trip to China and Japan is necessary to help attract business to the state and is dismissing criticism of it from a top state legislator.

Democratic House Speaker Pat Bauer said last week that it was nice the Republican governor was going to visit jobs that had left Indiana.

Daniels told WTHR (Channel 13), The Star’s news-gathering partner, in an Internet interview from China that Bauer “never has understood where jobs come from” and that the state would have few jobs left if it followed the speaker’s policies.

Daniels says that Indiana has led the nation at attracting jobs from international companies and that it was important to develop relationships with business executives so that they consider Indiana.