Making his first state visit to the
United States, Chinese President Hu Jintao, arrived in Seattle, Washington State
on Tuesday.
Seattle, the first stop of the Chinese president's four-day US
visit, is the commercial, cultural and advanced technology hub of
the US Pacific Northwest. It's also a major port for trans-Pacific
and Asian trade.
In Seattle, President Hu is meeting local officials and will visit
the Microsoft and Boeing facilities. He's also scheduled to give a
speech.
In a statement delivered on his arrival in Seattle, Hu said he was
delighted to visit at the invitation of US President George W. Bush
and he wished to extend, on behalf of the Chinese people, his
greetings and best wishes to the American people.
He observed that Washington State and Seattle, known in the US as
the Evergreen State and Emerald City, are renowned for their
beautiful environments and dynamic economies, had served as
important American gateways to China and the rest of Asia.
In recent years, Hu said, economic exchanges and mutually
beneficial cooperation between China and Washington State as well
as Seattle had seen rapid expansion, contributing to the overall
growth of China-US relations and friendly exchanges between the two
countries.
He said China and the US as two great nations, "share broad, common
interests, have a solid foundation for cooperation and shoulder
joint responsibility for promoting world peace and
development."
"A healthy, stable and ever-growing China-US relationship will
benefit the two peoples and enhance peace, stability and prosperity
in the Asia Pacific and the world at large," said Hu in the
statement.
The Chinese president said that thanks to joint efforts by the two
countries, the China-US relationship was enjoying the "sound
momentum of growth."
"I look forward to meeting with President Bush and exchanging views
with him on bilateral relations and major issues having a bearing
on our common interests," Hu said. "I will also have extensive
contact with the American people to enhance mutual understanding
and friendship between our two peoples."
Hu said he is confident that his visit will boost the growth of the
constructive cooperative relationship between China and the
US.
On his visit to Seattle and Yale University, President Hu will meet
US Congress members, officials, scholars, staff and students,
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi explained last
Friday.
Yang said President Hu and President Bush and other US leaders
would exchange views on bilateral relations and major international
and regional issues of common concern in a "profound way."
"We hope that Hu's visit will encourage both sides to examine the
importance and necessity of developing the Sino-US relations from a
strategic height and long-term perspective," he said.
On Wednesday, the Chinese president will leave Seattle for
Washington to have talks with President Bush at the White House on
Thursday. Hu is scheduled to give a speech at Yale University on
Friday.
In recent years China-US relations have, on the whole, maintained a
development momentum. The two countries have effectively cooperated
in trade, anti-terrorism, law enforcement, nonproliferation,
infectious disease control, science and technology, education and
several other areas.
The two countries have coordinated their positions in international
and regional affairs such as the nuclear issue on the Korean
Peninsula, the Iranian nuclear situation, the reconstruction of
Iraq and United Nations affairs.
Trade forms an important part of China-US relations. In 2005,
bilateral trade between China and the US rose to US$211.63 billion,
an increase of more than 86 times that of 1979 when the two
countries initially established diplomatic relations.
China has become the third largest trading partner and the fourth
largest export market for the US, which in turn, is now China's
second largest trading partner, with bilateral trade rising 27.4
percent annually between 2001 and 2005.
To date US companies have invested in nearly 50,000 projects in
China with an accumulated actual investment of over US$50 billion
and in 2004 US companies recorded sales of more than US$75
billion.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Liu Jianchao, said last week
that the goal of Hu's US visit was to enhance exchanges and mutual
trust and expand consensus and cooperation so as to jointly promote
the China-US relationship.
"I hope and believe that the Chinese president's visit will further
boost the development of China-US relations," Liu said.
After concluding his US trip on Friday, President Hu will continue
his five-nation tour, which will also take him to Saudi Arabia,
Morocco, Nigeria and Kenya.
(Xinhua News Agency April 19, 2006)
