Thank you very much for inviting me to this annual luncheon of the Long Beach-Qingdao Sister Cities Association (LBQA). It is a great pleasure to see many of my old friends here.

Before I start the topic, I wish to pay tribute to the City of Long Beach and LBQA for their long time commitment and dedication to the development of sister city relations between Long Beach and Qingdao.

Over the last three decades, with the support from the Long Beach municipal government and active participation of the local community, this sister city relationship has stood the test of time and remained strong and productive, yielding fruitful results ranging from trade, investment, education to arts and culture. The establishment of the sister port relationship between the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Qingdao contributed to the strengthening of this relationship.

The dedication of LBQA members is particularly commendable. The LBQA have done a great job in promoting friendship and cooperation between the two cities. It is no wonder that LBQA was recognized with the awards from Sister Cities International. I wish to thank the immediate past chair Mr. Griffith for your great leadership and contribution and look forward to working continuously with you and the new chair for the further development of our sister city relations.

Just now Professors Dube has talked about China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Here I would like to make some comments on that topic.

The Belt and Road Initiative was proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013 with the aim to create an open, inclusive and balanced regional economic cooperation architecture by promoting orderly and free flow of economic factors, highly efficient allocation of resources and deep integration of markets. The initiative encourages the countries along the Belt and Road to enhance synergy of development strategies and carry out broader and more in-depth regional cooperation of higher standards. It is a concrete action taken by the Chinese government to push forward economic globalization and the building of the community of shared future for mankind through common development.

The Belt and Road initiative upholds the principle of wide consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. It makes the policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people to people bond as its five priorities areas. It focuses not only on infrastructure building, but also on trade and investment facilitation, financial cooperation, cultural and people to people ties.

Over the past six years, the BRI has brought tangible benefits and more diverse development opportunities to the people of various countries. Total trade between China and other B&R countries has exceeded $6 trillion, and China's investment in these countries has surpassed $90 billion, with Chinese companies generating over $2 billion in tax revenue and 300,000 jobs for locals. AIIB, with 93 members, has approved 39 projects in 15 countries, providing loans or financing close to 8 billion USD in total.

Thanks to the BRI, some countries have built their first expressway or modern railway, some have developed their first automobile manufacturing industry, and some have resolved their long-standing electricity shortages. The Belt and Road cooperation have contributed significantly to advancement of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The BRI is not a geopolitical tool, nor is it designed to form an exclusive clique or impose any terms on others. The so-called "debt trap" is a fallacy with no solid proof. As a matter of fact, no country has become trapped in a debt crisis since its participation in the BRI. Quite the contrary, it is through participating in BRI cooperation that many countries have emerged from the trap of underdevelopment or no development.

The BRI originates in China, its opportunities and benefits belong to the world. While the US government takes a negative view on the BRI, many US companies are taking an active part in its projects. Honeywell International is already working with partners for oil and gas development along the Belt and Road. General Electric has signed a number of deals with partners of BRI which will help to provide reliable power and energy to critical regions across the world. Caterpillar is working with China's initiative to help solve Pakistan's severe power shortages. Citibank is actively providing financing for projects through the markets along the Belt and Road.

We certainly welcome more US companies to join the cooperative effort of the BRI. We will enhance trilateral cooperation and encourage cooperation among all participating countries in third market. This will provide companies in California with lots of opportunities to collaborate with B&R countries. We believe by working together, the BRI can achieve win-win results for all.

Ladies and gentlemen,

China has long been California's largest trading partner, the largest source of import and the third largest export market. In the past decade, California’s export of goods to China has increased by 64%, and its export of service has increased by 309%. California has also attracted the most Chinese investment among all the US states, with a cumulative total of 31.37 billion USD over the past 20 years.

The current trade friction has been going on for almost two years. According to a recent NBC report, the increased tariff is threatening 1.5 million jobs and over 186 billion USD worth of economic activities in the US. As trade war makes no winner, its negative impact on China-US economic and trade relations is felt directly here in Southern California. California wine export to China declined by 25%. California walnuts sold to China also declined by one third. Cargoes coming from and going to China have seen an over 10% decrease in Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. Besides, Chinese investment in the US in 2018 witnessed drastic decline by more than 80%.

The latest 13th round of China-US High-level Trade Consultation was concluded in October with substantive progress on agriculture, intellectual property, exchange rate and financial services, expanding trade cooperation, technology transfer and disputes settlement. The two negotiating teams are having in-depth discussions on the remaining tariff issue.

We have been holding the position that any settlement of trade dispute should be reached based on equality and mutual respect by properly resolving each other’s core concerns. On the tariff issue, we ask for simultaneous actions to undo the existing additional tariffs in the same proportion. Just as Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman pointed out two days ago, the trade war was begun with adding tariffs and should be ended by canceling these additional tariffs. This is an important condition for both sides to reach an agreement. If both sides reach a phase one agreement, the level of tariff rollback should fully reflect the importance of the phase one agreement.

We do hope both sides can work out the differences so as to create the necessary condition for healthy and steady development of our trade and economic relations.

China and the US share broad common interests. China stands for mutually beneficial cooperation with the US and remains committed to China-US relationship based on coordination, cooperation and stability.

China has a population of 1.4 billion. It has the biggest middle-income population in the world. Its domestic consumption has already taken up about 60% of GDP growth. Despite many challenges, Chinese economy is doing well, with a 6.2 percent GDP growth in the first three quarters of this year. China’s domestic consumption increased by 8.2%, foreign trade increased by 2.8% and FDI increased by 3%, which means China has enough resilience to cope with any risks and challenges. To say China’s economy has the worst year in 57 years is simply not true. To imagine China will yield to the US maxim pressure is simply not realistic nor for the idea of making decoupling of Chinese and the US economies.

China ‘s development will not stop. Early this month, the 19th Chinese Communist Party Central Committee concluded its 4th plenary session which made an important decision on some major issues concerning how to uphold and improve the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and advance the modernization of China’s system and capacity for governance. It specifies a number of tasks and measures , one of which is to uphold and improve the basic economic system and promote the high-quality development of the economy. This decision will produce far-reaching impact on the long term development of China.

We will advance reform and opening up and continue to engage with the international community for win win cooperation. We have already reduced the tariff on many import items, including whole vehicles and auto parts. We will significantly broaden market access and accelerate the opening-up of the insurance industry, financial services, and manufacturing sector. We will increase the import of high-quality goods and services from around the world. China has just hosted the 2nd China International Import Expo in Shanghai with the number of participating US companies surging by 18 % from the first expo in 2018 and their exhibition floor space ranked first among all participating countries. Next year, the new foreign investment law and The Regulation on Improving Business Environment will come into effect. Their implementation will help to improve the transparency of foreign investment policies, ensure both domestic and foreign enterprises apply to a unified set of rules (pre-establishment national treatment plus a negative list) and compete on a level playing field, and further improve the country’s business environment.

Economic and trade ties constitute the important foundation of China-US relations while sister city relationship facilitates these ties. Looking ahead, LBQA still has an important role to play in fostering stronger people to people bonds and closer economic and trade ties between our two cities. We look forward to working with our friends to promote more exchanges and cooperation for the benefits of our two countries and peoples.

Thank you.