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From April 13 to 21, a CPAFFC working group led by Yao Mingyu, director general of the Department of American and Oceanian Affairs of the CPAFFC, visited the United States, attended the 18th Forum on US-China Relations sponsored by the US-China Peoples Friendship Association (USCPFA) and had talks with the USCPFA, the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace Foundation, the Richard Nixon Centre, the Sister Cities International of the U.S., the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Council of State Governments, the Business Council for International Understanding and the UN Staff Union.

The USCPFA, the largest nongovernmental friendship- with-China organization in the US, holds a forum on US-China relations every two years with the aim of discussing hot issues in the bilateral relations and enhancing mutual understanding. At this years forum held in Washington with the theme of Synergetic Connection: US-China Relations, over 60 people including representatives from branches of the USCPFA, American scholars, US government officials as well as personages from China, Canada and the Netherlands were present. Subjects under discussion at the forum involved the trend of US-China political relations, the US-China cooperation in environmental protection, the framework of modern Chinese business, the Chinese governments trade subsidies, Chinas foreign exchange strategy, Chinas intellectual property rights, immigration and urbanization, etc. The participants, as a whole, affirmed the importance of US-China relations and Chinas increasingly important role and reckoned that the development of US-China relations is irresistible.

In his speech entitled Necessity of Enhancing Mutual Understanding between China and the United States, Yao Mingyu said, in the past about 30 years since the establishments of diplomatic relations, bilateral exchanges have developed to an unprecedented level in width and depth, but mutual understanding between the two countries is still not enough. He pointed out, China-US relationship is one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world. In todays trend of globalization, China and the United States should further deepen mutual understanding and cooperation so as to make the two countries play a more constructive role in safeguarding world peace and promoting common development. The CPAFFC wishes to continue its unremitting efforts to that end.