On June 1, Vice President Xie Yuan met with US delegation of secretary of state, headed by Elaine Marshall, North Carolina Secretary of State and President of National Association of Secretary of State. Other members in the delegation are: John Merrill, Alabama Secretary of State; Mark Martin, Arkansas Secretary of State; Paul Pate, Iowa Secretary of State and Alison Lundergan Grimes, Kentucky Secretary of State.

Vice President Xie said that since the establishment of diplomatic relationship between China and the United States 36 years ago, bilateral ties have enjoyed sound development and cooperation in various fields has deepened. Currently, leaders of our two countries reached important agreement on building a new type of major country relations between China and U.S., and the two sides have put in place a number of measures such as reciprocal visa arrangement to implement the agreement. At sub-national level, the collaboration among local governments of both countries have boosted local economic growth and benefited the people, which makes it an important component of the bilateral relations. Over the years, the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries worked closely with a number of U.S. Organizations including National Association of Secretary of State in building platforms for local government exchanges, and achieved positive results.

Secretary Marshall thanked Vice President Xie for meeting with the delegation. She said that National Association of Secretary of State is the oldest organization for sub-national government officials. The secretaries of state attach great importance to local economic development. China is increasingly becoming an important partner for U.S. states. The Association would like to carry forward cooperation with CPAFFC and have more secretaries of state to visit China to promote mutual understanding and practical cooperation.