Exchanges

Li Keqiang Meets U.S. Treasury Secretary

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with Jacob Lew， special representative of the U.S. President and the U.S. Treasury Secretary， in Beijing on February 29， 2016.

Li said that China became the largest trading partner of the U.S. last year. According to Li， China was ready for closer communication and coordination with the U.S.， taking care of each others concerns， and working to reach a reciprocal， high-level bilateral investment agreement. He added that China would continue structural reform， especially on the supply side to foster new growth drivers and revitalize traditional drivers. Market access would be broadened in an environment of fair competition through streamlined administration， delegated power， and mass entrepreneurship and innovation.

Li reaffirmed that China would continue to pursue a managed floating exchange rate regime based on market supply and demand， and with reference to a basket of currencies， would keep the exchange rate basically stable on a reasonable and balanced level. All major economies， including China and the U.S.， should strengthen macroeconomic policy coordination to shore up market confidence and achieve the strong， sustainable， and balanced growth of the world economy.

Lew said Chinas policy on exchange rates and structural reform would send a positive signal to the international community. The U.S. would strengthen communication with China and negotiation on the bilateral investment agreement to achieve substantial progress at an early date.

China Enterprise to Build Myanmars 1st Wind Farm

The China Three Gorges Corporation （CTG） signed a wind power project agreement with Myanmar on February 29， 2016. The Chaungtha Project in Ayeyawady Region of Myanmar is the first wind power project to be promoted by the Myanmar government and has been hailed as a prime example of the cooperation between the two countries in power generation.

Following an MOU signed in August 2012 with the Myanmar government， CTG conducted research on the feasibility of wind power projects in four regions of Myanmar， and obtained prior development rights in these areas， among which Chaungtha is the first invested project.

The project plans to develop an installed capacity of 30，000 kW in the first phase， which will optimize Myanmars energy infrastructure and partially ease the countrys power shortage.

China， Russia Hold 2nd Meeting on Northeast Asia Security

A second meeting on Northeast Asia security was held in Moscow on March 4， 2016. Kong Xuanyou， Chinese Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs， and Igor Morgulov， Russian Deputy Foreign Minister， co-chaired the meeting. Officials from the departments of foreign affairs， national defense， and security from both sides attended the meeting.

Considering the many hot issues and intractable problems in Northeast Asia， as well as the more complicated regional security situation， the two sides agreed to increase communication. China and Russia called for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula， noting that the nuclear issue could only be resolved through dialogue. Yet they stressed the full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions on the DPRK to effectively curb the countrys ability to further develop its nuclear and missile programs. The two sides also called for restraint over the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and to avoid any action that could aggravate tensions.

At the same time， the two countries voiced serious concerns over the possible deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense， a U.S. anti-ballistic missile system， in South Korea.

Year of China-CEEC Exchanges Launches

Liu Haixing， Assistant Foreign Minister and Secretary-General of the Secretariat for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries （CEEC）， announced the start of the Year of People-to-People and Cultural Exchanges between China and CEEC on February 26， 2016. Eduards Stiprais， political director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia， was present at the press conference.

According to Liu， it was the first time in the history of China-CEEC exchanges that a year of people-to-people and cultural exchanges would be jointly held by 17 countries. The event is of great significance for both implementing the results of the China-CEEC Suzhou Summit and building the China-CEEC partnership of civilizations. He stressed that China and the CEEC enjoyed longtime friendship， mutual respect， and mutual trust， and have always learned from each other， laying a solid foundation for the 16+1 People-to-People and Cultural Exchanges Year.

Eduards Stiprais said that the“16+1 cooperation” had gradually formed a situation where the three fields of politics， economy and trade， and people-to-people and cultural exchanges could advance side by side， adding that it enriched the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership. As the host country for the fifth meeting of Heads of Government of China and CEEC， Latvia wishes to grasp the good opportunity the Year of Peopleto-People and Cultural Exchanges offers， and make contributions in areas such as the teaching of Chinese， tourism， exchanges between think tanks， and the facilitation of personnel exchanges.