September 22nd, 2018

(From chinareports.org.cn, Correspondent: Li Chuanjun) On August 16, 2018, at the invitation of many local governments, associations and enterprises in the United States, Xiao Wunan, Executive Vice Chairman of the Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation, and his delegation visited Washington, New York and other cities. They exchanged views on topics such as how to promote Sino-US non-governmental exchanges and enhance mutual trust and understanding under the new situation, and how to promote bilateral friendly exchanges through strengthening cooperation in the fields of the economy, trade, culture and education. They achieved fruitful results.

The first stop of the delegation was Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland. They were aware of the trends and achievements in the areas of scientific and technological innovation, big data development, urbanization and medical health in recent years, and fully understood that no matter China’s rural revitalization plan or the goal of scientific and technological innovation, there was room for cooperation. All the parties reached a number of consensus on exploring and promoting these cooperations in the future. The Chinese-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Washington made full arrangements and assisted with the delegation’s itinerary. The Economic Counsellor's Office of the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C. and the Representative Office of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade in the United States also sent personnel to participate in the activities.

During their visit to San Francisco, the delegation held discussions with newly elected municipal government, and reached many consensus on how to promote cooperation between San Francisco Bay Area and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. During their discussions with Mr. Sean Randolph, President of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, both sides agreed that the establishment of a normal coordination mechanism is feasible and necessary for promoting the allocation and optimization of resources between the two bay areas.

During a visit to the Center for Innovation Leadership of SRI International, both sides reached a number of consensus on the current innovation-driven situation in China, how to make use of Stanford University’s advantages in teaching, scientific research and talent reserve to combine China’s market and capital strengths, complement each other and jointly find new vitality for their own development.

Throughout its visit to the United States, the delegation has always focused on international cooperation in the field of education and held extensive discussions on promoting multi-level cooperation between institutions of higher learning in different regions and China. Especially in San Francisco, during meetings with the heads of Berkeley College, San Francisco Art Institute, Peralta Community College District and its affiliated professional colleges, many cooperation intentions were reached on establishing inter-school cooperation, short-term training and setting up branches in China.

During their visits to New York and Seattle, they had extensive contacts with people from all walks of life, such as finance, industry and culture. It was generally believed that at this stage, strengthening Sino-US non-governmental exchanges and implementing some specific projects would be like a "timely rain" and play a positive role in creating a new trend in Sino-US relations.

On August 24, the delegation arrived in Los Angeles and held meetings on the future work of the China Culture Center (USA). At the same time, at the headquarters of Hantian TV，the delegation invited many people and institutions who are keen on cultural exchanges between China and the United States to have extensive discussions on how to promote cooperation among Asian Americans and how to make use of Los Angeles’ resources in film, television, culture and music to jointly create and promote cultural and artistic works with Asian values to the world. Mr. Xiao Wunan also accepted the invitation of many Korean educational institutions to serve in an honorary position and as a consultant. During this period, he also exchanged ideas with Chinese artists Wu Huan and Tang Guoqiang, holding constructive discussions on the overseas dissemination of Chinese culture.

The visit played a positive role in non-governmental exchanges, economic, trade and cultural exchanges between the two countries and in enhancing mutual trust and understanding between China and the United States.

The Asia Pacific Exchange & Cooperation Foundation has been committed to promoting friendship between China and the United States at all levels for 30 years and has made many achievements. It is believed that this visit will play a positive role in building a sustainable, healthy and stable development of Sino-US relations in the future.

Editor in charge: Li Chuanjun