China-United States
Exchange Foundation CEO Speaks atAnnual Meeting of U.S. Lieutenant Governors
Clarie Lo calls for increased China-U.S. mutual
understanding and cooperation
Biloxi, Mississippi – July 28, 2010 –Clarie Lo, Chief Executive Officer of the
Hong Kong-based China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF), delivered an opening address on
the economic relationship between the United States and China at the annual
meeting of the National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA) in Biloxi,
Mississippi.Ms.
Lo’s attendance at this meeting was sponsored by the NLGA.
Ms. Lo’s
remarks were entitled “The Role of International Relations and the Global
Economy in Economic Recovery.” The meeting was attended byLieutenant
Governors from
throughout the United States.
The CUSEF is part of a
partnership, that also includes the NLGA
and the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries
(CPAFFC), that sponsors annual visits to China for U.S. Lieutenant Governors.
Support from these organizations has enabled twelve Lieutenant Governors to
visit China over the past two years.
In her speech, Ms. Lo
urged continued cooperation between China and the United States due in large
part to the fact that this is the single most important bilateral relationship
in the world. She said that the Lieutenant Governors have the ability to
influence international relations through the approach they take to promoting
expanded ties between the U.S. and China in their own states with the public
and their business communities.
“We have indeed come a long way in building
understanding and forging trade links between our two countries,” said Ms. Lo.
“By continuing to enhance our communication channels and exchanging views on
bilateral economic and trade cooperation, global climate change, and China-U.S. relations more
generally, we are paving the road for decades of deepened understanding and
strengthened ties.”
The Lieutenant
Governors’ visits to China seek to develop personal and business relationships
as key elements driving success in the global economy. Further to
the goals of CUSEF, all Lieutenant Governors share their experience in China
with their constituents upon their return, thus fostering a better
understanding between these officials and people throughout the U.S. and China.
In her speech, Ms. Lo
discussed the recent revaluation of the Yuan, China-U.S. trade, and the restructuring of China’s economy
towards one that is based on innovation, technology, and energy efficiency.“Thus, by and large,
closer economic relationship
in trade, finance and investment would create a win-win relationship for both
countries,” Ms. Lo said.
During her stay in the
U.S., Ms. Lo also met with a Massachusetts-based non-governmental organization
called Primary Source and had meetings with a group of New England-based
educators who travelled to China in April 2010. Discussions with Primary Source
officials centered around the development of that
organization’s
upcoming on-line study course for educators and on how to enhance China-U.S.
cooperation in engaging K-12 teachers on global education.
Ms.
Lo also met with representatives of the Harvard Asia Center and discussed the
details of an upcoming China-U.S.
Writers Forum co-sponsored by
CUSEF, Chinese Writers Association and the Harvard Asia Center. The forum is to be
held at
Harvard University on September 24th and 25th 2010.
Ms. Lo was also
invited to attend the National Urban League’s (NUL) Centennial conference events in Washington D.C. The
invitation resulted from a highly successful visit by a NUL delegation to China
in late January and early February 2010. Ms. Lo attended a special NUL plenary session where U.S. President Barack Obama gave a speech on education reform and she toured the Centennial
Expo which showcased the remarkable progress NUL has made in areas such as urban development and civil rights over the past one hundred years.
For a copy of Ms. Lo’s NLGA speech, please
visit http://www.cusef.org.hk.
About the China-United States Exchange Foundation
The China-United
States Exchange Foundation has been established with the purpose of further
improving communications and enhancing understanding between the peoples of
China and the United States. In particular, the Foundation is committed to
helping the people of both countries recognise their many areas of common
interest and to identifying and developing additional areas of common interest.
The Foundation does
this by fostering open dialogue between opinion leaders from the governments,
think tanks, academia, media and the business communities of both countries,
particularly dialogue based on Foundation-supported research. Through
programmes undertaken in partnership with Chinese and American think tanks,
educational and other institutions, the Foundation facilitates policy research,
supports academic exchanges, and creates platforms, such as conferences and
seminars, to encourage the exchange of insights and opinions from public- and
private-sector representatives on issues relating to China-United States relations.
