ＣＰＡＦＦＣ Ｄｅｌｅｇａｔｉｏｎ Ｖｉｓｉｔｓ ｔｈｅ Ｕｎｉｔｅｄ Ｓｔａｔｅｓ

A CPAFFC delegation with its president Chen Haosu as the head and vice president Li Xiaolin as the deputy head paid a goodwill visit to the United States from February 8 to 16 at the invitation of the US-China Peoples Friendship Association (USCPFA). President Chen Haosu and his party had a series of important meetings with personages of the ruling and opposition Parties of the U. S. in Washington D. C.， New York and Hawaii.

Meeting and Exchanging Views with Personages of Political Circles

US Congressmen Pete Sessions and Shelley Moore Capito hosted a luncheon in honour of CPAFFC President Chen and his party on February 8. President Chen expressed his happiness in meeting with them at the beginning of the new year. He said: “We had been celebrating the Spring Festival---the traditional Chinese New Year just before I left China when the whole country was immersed in a jubilant atmosphere. I wish to bring this joyful atmosphere to the United States and see greater progress in Sino-US relations in the new year.” The two Congressmen extended warm welcome to President Chen and his party. They agreed with President Chen’s views on bilateral relations and expressed their willingness to continue to work actively to advance US-China relations. Sessions happily recalled the scenes of assembling the computer lab at Xibaipo Primary School. He said， the development of the United Parcel Service of America， Inc. (UPS) in China is a fine example， which he often mentioned when talked at the Congress about American companies’ interests in China and the mutual benefits in developing US-China economic and trade relations. He emphasized that the two sides should make friends first and that only when friendship is built can bilateral exchanges be carried out on a solid basis. He hoped that the decision makers of both the U. S. and China would promote political relations through more business exchanges. Chen Haosu said， in recent years， trade cooperation between China and the U. S. has developed rapidly and the bilateral trade volume has increased more than 60 times than the year when the two countries restored diplomatic relations. China is now the No. 3 trade partner of the U. S. and its fastest growing export market， while the U. S. is China’s No. 2 trade partner. Bilateral economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial， which has brought and will continue to bring more tangible benefits to the two peoples. He expressed the hope that US statesmen would continue to promote Sino-US economic and trade exchanges and that more and more American companies like UPS would enter the Chinese market.

On February 15， Governor Linda Lingle and Lt. Governor Duke Aiona of Hawaii met with President Chen and his party at the Governor’s office. President Chen said: “This is my first visit to Hawaii. I was enchanted by the beautiful scenery as soon as I walked out of the plane. I hope that Hawaii will become a tourist destination of Chinese citizens at an early date.” Chen expressed his pleasure of meeting Governor Lingle again in her hometown. He added: “The CPAFFC was honoured to receive the Hawaii State Government Delegation headed by Governor Lingle in June last year. I was happy to learn that you were pleased with the arrangement and reception by our Association and that China has left you good impressions. We are looking forward to your next visit to China.” Recalling her visit to China last year at the invitation of the CPAFFC， Governor Lingle said that it was the most important experience in her life. She hoped to be reelected in November so as to make continuous efforts to advance the relations between Hawaii and China.

The delegation paid a visit to the State Senate of Hawaii at the invitation of Senator Colleen Hanabusa on the same day. The Senator introduced each member of the delegation to the senators who were having a meeting and later hosted a luncheon in honour of the delegation. Hanabusa said， China is a great country. She has seen with her own eyes the changes in China reported by the American media. She said， 15 years ago China was rarely mentioned by the American media. Whenever it was mentioned， there were always negative news. Now there are lots of reports on the changes and development of China. The State of Hawaii looks forward to having cooperation with China， and especially hopes to see more Chinese tourists here. Chen Haosu thanked the Senator for her hospitality. He said that the CPAFFC would further strengthen its contacts with the National Conference of State Legislatures of the United States including the Hawaii State Legislature.

Meeting with Nongovernmental Figures and Deepening Understanding and Friendship

A discussion specially arranged for the delegation by the USCPFA was held at the George Washington University. Present were more than ten scholars from the Sigur Centre for Asian Studies and a great number of professors and students of the University. The discussion proceeded in a warm atmosphere. Prof. Shawn McHale， director of the Centre， said in his welcoming speech that US-China relationship is the most important bilateral relations maintained by the United States and that the close contact between the two governments and peoples conforms to the common interests of both peoples. President Chen said in his speech， the Sino-US relations have gone through twists and turns. But the two governments have been making unremitting efforts to enhance mutual trust， consultations and dialogues for advancing bilateral relations. In September last year， President Hu Jintao who was attending the summit meeting on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations held a meeting with President Bush in New York. The two sides agreed to maintain contact at high and various levels and strengthen and expand dialogue and cooperation in important areas such as anti-terrorism， prevention of nuclear proliferation， UN reform， Asian and Pacific affairs， promotion of global economic growth， etc. President Hu Jintao’s state visit to the U. S. in April this year will further promote the development of the constructive and cooperative relations between China and the United States. A stable Sino-US state relationship provides a good platform for us nongovernmental organizations to carry out exchanges. Chen added， in recent years， the CPAFFC and nongovernmental organizations in the U. S. have conducted exchanges in the cultural， educational and other areas， building bridges of friendship and exchanges between the people of China and the U. S. The George Washington University is a renowned university in the U. S. It ranks among the first in the studies of political science， law， international relations and other fields in the U. S. and has trained many statesmen and diplomats for the country. He hoped that the scholars of this famous university would continue to contribute to the advancement of Sino-US relations.

On the evening of February 14， the USCPFA Honolulu Chapter hosted a grand banquet to welcome the delegation. Vernon Ching， president of the chapter， said in his speech that the visit by President Chen Haosu and his party was a major event in the exchanges between the two organizations and that it was of special significance that they gathered together on the evening of the Valentine’s Day.He expressed that the USCPFA Honolulu Chapter was looking forward to carrying out more cooperation with the CPAFFC. Chen Haosu made a warm and friendly speech at the banquet. He said: “The CPAFFC expresses gratitude to the USCPFA Honolulu Chapter for the contributions it has made over the years to the promotion of understanding and friendship between the people of China and the U. S.Most of our friends at the USCPFA have visited China either as heads or as members of USCPFA delegations and forged an indissoluble bond with China. I’m very pleased to see that so many American friends love China. I hope that through your publicity and your work more and more Americans will plunge into the cause of Sino-US friendship.”

The delegation attended the banquet given by V. Napua Baker， vice president of Brigham Young University while in Hawaii and had consultations on further exchanges between the CPAFFC and the University. The University and the CPAFFC have cooperated over the past years in organizing summer and winter camps for Chinese middle school students in the U. S. The two sides pledged to work with added efforts to make this cooperation a greater success.