On December 23, Mr. Gao Hucheng, Minister of Commerce of PRC, interviewed Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago, in Beijing, and exchanged views on expanding trade and investment cooperations between Chinese cities and Chicago and establishing “Joint Working Group of Trade and Investment Cooperations between Chinese Cities and Chicago, the U.S.”.

Gao Hucheng welcomed Mayor Emanuel and his delegation to visit China. He said that China-US economic and trade relation is an important foundation and positive driving force for China-US relations. This year, President Xi Jinping and President Obama have met with each other twice, and reached important agreement on building a cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit, charting the course for the development of China-US relations. During second half of this year, China and the U.S. successfully held the 5th China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue and the 24th China-US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT), and reached various agreements on economic and trade fields.

Gao Hucheng disclosed that exchanges and cooperations between Chinese provinces/cities and American states/cities are the positive force to push the development of China-US relations, and the important contents of building a new-type cooperative partnership. In this January, Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China and Chicago reached an agreement on developing comprehensive economic cooperations. Many Chinese cities expressed their strong desire to establish cooperations. After nearly one-year efforts of work teams of China and the U.S., the Ministry of Commerce gathered competent authorities of Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Qingdao, Shenyang, Hangzhou, Wuhan and Chengdu to sign Memorandum of Understanding on Establishment of Joint Working Group of Trade and Investment Cooperations between Chinese Cities and Chicago, the U.S., which will deepen the exploration of new routes of cooperation between Chinese provinces/cities and American states/cities. China and the U. S. are expected to make concerted efforts to expand the economic and trade cooperations between Chinese cities and Chicago, and lay a foundation for benefits of both countries.

Emanuel said, “Chicago has unique advantages of developing economic and trade cooperations with Chinese provinces and cities. Chicago is a city with diverse economic forms and as an important railway and aviation hub of the U.S., is developing headquarters economy. Most of students abroad in Chicago come from China. The signing of the Memorandum will bring more changes in further developing economic and trade cooperations between Chicago and Chinese cities.”

Then, witnessed by Mr. Gao Hucheng, together with persons in charge of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and officers of above eight cities, Wang Chao, Vice Minister of Commerce of PRC, signed Memorandum of Understanding on Establishment of Joint Working Group of Trade and Investment Cooperations between Chinese Cities and Chicago with Mayor Emanuel.

Translated by Hu Xiaoying