On October 12, Director General Zhang Heqiang of Department of American and Oceanian Affairs, met with Lieutenant Governor Brad Owen of the State of Washington of USA. Director General Zhang thanked Washington for making thoughtful arrangements for President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the USA back in September and generous support for the Third US-China Governors Forum. Director General Zhang expressed that CPAFFC would like to make further efforts in actively promoting China-US subnational exchanges and cooperation. Lt. Governor Owen said that the State of Washington appreciated the honor of receiving head of state from China for a few times, including President Xi Jinping. Washington and China have maintained close relations and he vows to further strengthen the bilateral ties in areas such as economy and trade, culture and education.