ＵＳ Ｌｔ． Ｇｏｖｅｒｎｏｒｓ’Ｄｅｌｅｇａｔｉｏｎ Ｖｉｓｉｔｓ Ｃｈｉｎａ

An 11-member US Lt. governors’ delegation sent by the Council of the State Governments of the United States and led by Barbara Lawton， chairwoman of the National Lt. Governors Association （NLGA） and Lt. Governor of Wisconsin，paid a visit to Beijing， Chengdu and Shanghai from October 5 to 12， 2008. Members of the delegation included Lt. Governor of Kansas Mark Parkinson， Lt. Governor of Alabama Jim Folsom， Lt. Governor of Connecticut Michael Fedele and Lt. Governor of Nevada Brian Krolicki as well as their spouses or assistants. The five states are respectively located in the northern， central， southern， northeastern and western parts of the United States， and the five Lt. governors respectively belong to the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Hence， the delegation was highly representative. Tung Chee Hwa， vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference， met with and entertained the delegation in Beijing. The delegation paid official calls on Qiu Baoxing， vice minister of construction; Huang Yanrong， deputy governor of Sichuan Province; Tang Dengjie， vice mayor of Shanghai and Liu Jieyi， assistant foreign minister. CPAFFC Vice President Li Xiaolin accompanied the delegation throughout the visit. In Beijing the delegation took part in the exchanges between Chinese and US friendship provinces and states， had talks with the representatives of Heilongjiang， Hubei and Henan Provinces and visited the Olympic Games venues. In Sichuan it visitedMianyang City and Beichuan County， and in Shanghai it visited the Pudong New Area and an American company Rohm and Haas China， Inc.

China-US Relations

The members of the delegation unanimously held that China-US relationship is one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world. Through this visit they gained a deeper understanding about the relations between the two countries. They said， they support free trade and globalization and China-US trade has brought benefits to both countries and those in the United States oppose China-US trade mainly for political aims. Ms. Lawton said， the US-China relationship at present is more important than any time in history. The two countries have extensive common interests in the fields of trade， investment， finance， environmental protection， education and energy. The future of the two countries is closely linked together. Besides in charge of economic and environmental affairs， one of the important aspects of the Lt. governors’ work is to promote people-to-people exchanges. Exchanges between the American and Chinese people which help extend friendship and cooperation to every stratum of society are the foundation of friendship between the two countries. She expressed her thanks to the Chinese government and people for inviting them to visit China， which gave them a chance to have contacts with ordinary Chinese people and enhanced their friendship with and understanding about China. She said， when the United States is in difficulty， the friendship from China seems especially precious. Lt. Governor Fedele said， peace， prosperity and life of high quality are the common pursuit of the two peoples. Thus， the two countries have a common mission and face common challenges. Therefore， the two countries should continue to enhance mutual understanding and strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation so as to benefit the people of the two countries. Lt. Governor Folsom said， globalization has made the countries in the world more interdependent and interacting. Only by strengthening cooperation， can the United States and China achieve win-win progress. Several Lt. governors said that this visit was the beginning of their future long-term friendly cooperation with China. Lt. Governor Krolicki said， many US local officials have visited Taiwan， but have not visited the mainland of China; as a result， they do not have a clear understanding of the Taiwan question and have prejudice against the mainland of China. If more Lt. governors can visit China， it will greatly enhance important local political figures’ understanding of and friendship with China. All the Lt. governors said that after returning home they would tell the people in their states what they had seen and heard in China and encourage them to know more about China.

China’s Development

Among the members of the delegation， Lt. Governor Lawton and Lt. Governor Fedele visited China for the first time. The economic growth， social stability and people’s hospitality in the cities they visited left a deep impression on them. Ms. Lawton said， the American people’s knowledge about China is one-sided and out of date. Only coming to China， can one really know about the country and experience its booming growth. Lt. Governor Folsom said， in the past 30 years since reform and opening up， earth-shaking changes have taken place in China. Economy has been growing with vigour and noticeable progress has been made in democracy and freedom. If China develops along this track， it will have a bright future. Lt. Governor Parkinson said， vice regional director of the Asia-Pacific Region of Rohm and Haas told him that American enterprises make investment in China not because labour in China is cheap， but because China has a huge market and more clients. This has made him realize that China does not scramble for employment opportunities by taking advantage of its cheap labour; therefore， the United States should not blindly blame China for its unemployment problem， but should find causes from itself. Lt. Governor Krolicki said， China has made achievements that attract worldwide attention since reform and opening up and is opening its door wider to the outside world. He expressed his thanks to China for permitting Nevada State to set up a tourist office in Beijing and vigorously promoting the development of tourism in the two countries. When visiting the Olympic Games venues， Lt. governors said， the Beijing Olympic Games are unique and gave the people of the world a pleasant surprise. The Olympic Games have demonstrated long-standing Chinese culture and built a national imageof prosperity and hospitality， which will exert positive and far-reaching influence on China’s future development.

Reconstruction of Disaster Areas

Before coming to China， the delegation expressed hope to visit the Sichuan earthquake-stricken areas to extend their sympathy and support for the local people. After arriving in Beichuan County Town， the delegation carefully examined the losses caused by the earthquake and listened to the briefings given by the local cadres. When learning the devastating destruction caused by the earthquake， many members of the delegation shed tears. In Leigu Town the delegation learnt about the reconstruction work after the earthquake and listened to the reconstruction plan. At the Changhong Training Base in Mian- yang， the delegation visited the temporary campus of Beichuan Middle School. They were greatly moved by the students’ warm reception， optimistic attitude and hard study. The Lt. governors handed Wan Lianpo， vice mayor of Mian- yang， a letter expressing sympathy of the people in their states for the people in the earthquake-stricken areas. Ms. Lawton said， it was really extraordinary that the people of Sichuan displayed the spirit of unity， optimism and mutual help and carried out reconstruction soon after the earthquake. Mr. Fedele expressed appreciation of the Chinese government for allowing international aid teams to enter the disaster areas and accepting aids of various forms from the international community which reflects China’s openness and humanitarian spirit. When learning the dedication spirit of sacrifying the lives of their own family members in order to save people’s lives and putting others’ interests ahead of their own displayed by the cadres in the disaster areas， Mr. Folsom said， these local leaders are real civil servants serving the people. Under their leadership， the reconstruction work in Sichuan disaster areas will achieve great success. Mr. Parkinson said， though in recent years the United States have suffered natural disasters such as hurricanes many times， the destruction caused by those disasters are incomparable to the devastating destruction caused by the earthquake in Sichuan. The fact that China can relocate such a large number of victims of the disasters in such a short time fully reflects the Chinese government’s remarkable capability of organization and mobilization.