ＣＰＰＣＣ Ｖｉｃｅ Ｃｈａｉｒｍａｎ Ｘｕ Ｋｕａｎｇｄｉ Ｖｉｓｉｔｓ Ｕ． Ｓ．

Xu Kuangdi， vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)， president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the China-US People’s Friendship Association (CUSPFA)， visited the United States from June 1 to 9 in his capacity as president of the CUSPFA at the invitation of the National Committee on US-China Relations and the US-China Business Council. During his stay in the U. S.， he met with former US President George Bush， former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger， senators and members of the House of Representatives， Senior Director for Asian Affairs of the National Security Council Michael Green and former Secretary of Defence William Cohen as well as business leaders， researchers of the think tanks and personages of other circles. They amicably and frankly exchanged views on hot issues concerning the current Sino-US relations and discussed ways to further promote people-to-people contacts. Vice Chairman Xu was invited to speak at the banquet hosted by the National Committee on US-China Relations and at the Board Meeting of the US-China Business Council. He had a brief conversation with Carlos Gutierrez， US secretary of commerce at the banquet held by the US-China Business Council.

Views on Sino-US Relations

Vice Chairman Xu visited the U. S. in his capacity as CUSPFA president. Meeting with personages of the American political circles and influential businessmen through nongovernmental channels facilitated him to share his thoughts with them on Sino-US relations and learn what’s on their minds so that he could answer their questions and solve their puzzles.

Former US President George Bush invited Vice Chairman Xu to his home as an old friend.

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger met with the delegation. On the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue， he said that consideration should be given not only to the security of the Korean Peninsula itself， but also to the security of the whole of Northeast Asian region.

Carlos Gutierrez， US secretary of commerce， said when chatting with Vice Chairman Xu， the United States advocates free trade. Free trade encourages free competition. He had very good talks with Vice Premier Wu Yi and Minister Bo Xilai in Beijing. He believed that the U. S. would not fight a trade war with China and the dispute over textile products could be resolved through consultation.

Michael Green， senior director for Asian affairs of the National Security Council， stressed that President Bush insists on developing a constructive relationship of cooperation with China and will not reexamine or formulate new China policies. Green paid attention to and agreed with the concept of peaceful development， not peaceful rise， that China has stressed.

Enhancing Congressmen’s Understanding of China

Vice Chairman Xu met with four senators and five house representatives at luncheons and other occasions. Xu gave detailed explanation in English on China’s policies on the issues of Taiwan， China-US trade deficit， RMB exchange rate， intellectual property right protection， China’s energy import， etc. By presenting the facts and reasoning things out from the angle of US worries， he helped the congressmen learn a lot what they didn’t know before and deepen their understanding of these issues.

Exchanges with Personages from US Think Tanks， Business and Other Circles

Vice Chairman Xu attached great importance to the role played by the US think tanks and business circles in promoting China-US relations. During the visit， he set aside half a day specially for discussion with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and arranged several meetings with the business circles.

John Hamre， president and CEO of CSIS， said at the discussion， there is no reason for the United States and China to have conflicts. The U. S. can create an enemy. It can also forge a constructive and cooperative partner. He himself believes that the latter is the correct choice.

At the meeting with personages of the business circles， some of them said that the U. S. does not believe that the appreciation of RMB will solve its trade deficit with China.

Vice Chairman Xu met with Cardinal Teodore McCarrick， archbishop of Washington， as an old friend. He also had meetings with the National Conference of State Legislatures， the US-China Peoples Friendship Association and other friendship-with-China organizations， and discussed with them ways to carry out exchanges between the local governments and youth of the two countries.

In one week’s time， the Vice Chairman met with more than 100 personages of the American political， business， academic and other circles， attended over a dozen meetings， luncheons and dinners， at which he talked about China’s policies and positions from the perspective of the people in a convincing way， winning understanding and support from them.