On May 20th, Vice President Xie Yuan met with the U.S. Silicon Valley Mayors Delegation which consists of former Mayor Tony Spitaleri of Sunnyvale , Mayor Kathy Chao Rothberg of San Pablo, Mayor Peter Longmire of Pittsburg , Mayor Ken Chew of Moraga, representatives from China Silicon Valley and entrepreneurs from the Silicon Valley.

Vice President Xie introduced that the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries(CPAFFC) was founded in 1954 and is the oldest Chinese organization engaged in people-to-people diplomacy. Over the years, it has been dedicated to enhancing friendly contact and cooperation between Chinese people and peoples from other parts of the world. He  pointed out that China-U.S. Ties have become much closer since the diplomatic relations were established 36 years ago. Nowadays about 4.3 million people travel between the two countries annually. The new visa agreement reached between our two governments last year will provide greater convenience to the personnel exchanges in various fields. As a hub of high-tech and innovation, the Silicon Valley is of great potential and opportunities in expanding the cooperation with China especially in high and new technology industry.

Tony Spitaleri said that this was his fourth visit to China and each time he saw huge changes in China. The deepening and healthy development of US-China relations have brought significant benefits to the development of the Silicon Valley. That Asian community accounts for over 60% of total Silicon Valley population is not only bringing the region an advantage of cultural diversity, but also a favorable condition to strengthening the cooperation with China.