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At the invitation of the CPAFFC， a 12-member US delegation headed by Ernie Fletcher， governor of Kentucky State of U.S.， paid a visit to Beijing， Shanghai and Nanchang from May 21 to 26， 2005. During the delegation’s stay in Beijing， Governor Fletcher and his party paid an official call on State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan， and had working meetings with officials of the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Health.

Tang Jiaxuan Meeting with the Delegation

On May 23， State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan met with Governor Fletcher and his party in Zhongnanhai. The two sides exchanged views on Sino-US relations， Sino-US trade and friendship ties between Chinese provinces and US states.

On Sino-US relations: Tang Jiaxuan said， China is the largest developing country， while the United States the largest developed country. Maintaining friendship between the two countries is beneficial to the two peoples and conducive to peace， stability in the Asian-Pacific region and the world at large. Since the beginning of the Bush Administration’s second term， Sino-US relations， in general， have witnessed a momentum of sound development. The leaders of the two countries have kept in close contacts and communication. The two countries have kept in effective consultation and coordination on the important international and regional issues such as counter-terrorism， the DPRK nuclear issue， the reconstruction of Iraq， etc. Bilateral cooperation in wide areas including economy， trade， enforcement of laws， education， science， technology， culture， etc. is continuously developing， their common interests increasing. Tang said， not long ago， President Hu Jintao talked with President Bush on the phone. In their meeting during the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the victory of the world Anti-Fascist War in Moscow， the two leaders had discussions in depth about Sino-US relations and major issues of common concern.

Governor Fletcher agreed with State Councillor Tang’s analysis on Sino-US relations， saying that the main aim of their visit to China this time was to forge friendship and seek opportunities for cooperation. China’s vigorous development and the Chinese people’s friendliness gave him full confidence in the future of Sino-US relations.

On Sino-US trade cooperation: Tang Jiaxuan said， since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries， bilateral economic and trade cooperation has experienced considerable development. In 2004， bilateral trade volume was close to $170 billion， over 60 times than the figure in 1979 when the two countries just established diplomatic relations. Now， the United States is China’s second largest trade partner， and China US’ third largest trade partner and the fastest growing market for its export. In recent years， the business of Kentucky State represented by the KFC chains has achieved success in China. KFC is very popular among Chinese children and young people， becoming the fastest developing international fast-food company in China. We welcome more Kentucky enterprises to invest in China， seek trade partners and strengthen cooperation in various fields， especially in agriculture.

The State Councillor pointed out， along with the increasing development of bilateral economic and trade relations， it is quite normal that there have appeared some frictions and differences in the economic and trade areas. The key is to properly handle them. We have given close attention to the US concerns over US trade deficits with China， exchange rate of RMB， protection of intellectual property rights， etc.， and have taken many important measures. However， recently， Senator Keith P. Sommer and some other congressmen have submitted more than ten bills on problems concerning US-China trade， saying if China does not appreciate RMB within half a year， the US government should impose a 27.5% penalty tariff on all the products exported from China to the U.S. Tang said in emphasis， China as a sovereign state， will not surrender to outside pressure to change the exchange rate of RMB. In foreign trade we persist in the principle of “development， equality and mutual benefits”. Any problems should be resolved through dialogues and consultation， avoiding politicalization of economic problems. At present the two products that China imports most from the U.S. are soybeans and Boeing airplanes. But the US places many obstacles to the export of high-tech products that China needs most urgently. We think that the fundamental way to solve the problem of US trade deficits with China is that the U.S. relaxes its restrictions on exporting high-tech products to China. After all， the Chinese people cannot live by eating soybeans on Boeing airplanes.

Governor Fletcher said， at the time when he served as a congressman， he already voted for giving China the most favoured nation treatment， and supported establishing permanent normal trade relations between the two countries. He disagreed with Senator Sommer’s views. Fletcher said， both the U.S. and China have reaped huge benefits from bilateral trade. Even if there appear problems， the two countries should try to solve them through dialogues. He expressed his appreciation of the measures that the Chinese government has taken to protect the IPR， saying this would help US companies strengthen their confidence in making investment in China.

On establishing friendship ties with Chinese provinces: Tang Jiaxuan extended his congratulations on the 20th anniversary of the friendship ties between Kentucky State and Jiangxi Province. He said. The Chinese government always attaches great importance to developing friendly contacts between the Chinese and US local governments. Now there are 121 pairs of friendship cities and 37 pairs of friendship provinces/states between China and the United States. Friendship ties between Chinese and American cities and provinces have become an important component part and driving force of Sino-US relations. Tang hoped Jiangxi and Kentucky would explore new opportunities of cooperation in the fields of economy， trade， agriculture， tourism， etc.

Governor Fletcher thanked Tang for his congratulations， saying as the first incumbent governor of Kentucky visiting Jiangxi Province， he would work hard to promote closer friendly cooperation with Jiangxi.

Friendship Provinces Jointly Strive for Development

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of friendship ties between Jiangxi Province and Kentucky State. For this reason， Governor Fletcher and his party visited Nanchang after they concluded their visit to Beijing and Shanghai.

Huang Zhiquan， governor of Jiangxi Province， met with and entertained Governor Fletcher and his party. Governor Huang suggested that the two provinces should follow the example of the cooperation between Ford Motor Company and Jiangling Motor Company Group and make full use of friendship ties between the two provinces and carry out exchanges in the fields of economy， trade， science， technology， culture and education. Governor Fletcher said， Kentucky State and Jiangxi Province have a lot in common. For instance， both provinces have outstanding talents， rich natural reserves and excellent tourist resources. Cooperation in the agriculture， automobile and machinery manufacture sectors has bright prospects. After the meeting the two governors signed the Memorandum on Further Strengthening Friendship Ties Between Jiangxi Province and Kentucky State， setting the direction for substantial exchanges and cooperation between the two provinces in the future.

The delegation visited the Jiangling Motor Company Group， a Sino-US joint venture， and had a talk with the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Group and got detailed information about its cooperation with Ford Motor Company. The rapid development of the Jiangling Motor Company as well as the cooperation of mutual benefits between the two companies left deep impressions on the delegation. Governor Fletcher hoped that Kentucky and Jiangxi would carry out more cooperation and exchanges just as the two motor companies had done so as to bring substantial benefits to both sides.

Governor Fletcher said， this visit to China was an exploration travel， through which they got to know the basic situation in China and laid foundation for future cooperation and exchanges. He said that after returning home， he would inform the people in the Congress， the trade unions and the industrial and business circles of what they have seen and heard in China. He and members of the delegation said， wherever they went， they were accorded warm reception from the Chinese government and people， which made them firmly believe that US-China relations would have a brighter future.