On August 16th, Consul General Gao Yanping met with and hosted a dinner for Mayor of Houston Annise Parker at the residence of the Chinese Consulate General in Houston.

Consul General Gao extended her congratulations to Mayor Parker on the Houston Delegation's successful visit to China, attendance to Shanghai World Expo, and holding "Houston Day" at the Expo Garden. Consul General Gao said, a healthy and stable development of China-U.S. relationship has provided an excellent opportunity for Houston and China to carry out exchanges and cooperation in all fields. We hope you will play a more positive role in supporting and promoting the development of China-U.S. relations, and seize the opportunity to enhance the friendly cooperation between Houston and China to a new level.

Mayor Parker said, she paid a visit to China 12 years ago. In this August, she led the Houston Delegation to visit China, including Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing. She was greatly touched by China's fast development. She met with and had talks with officials of the relevant departments of the central government, provinces and cities. The Houston Delegation believes that there is a great potential for the development of cooperation between Houston and China. The cooperation between the two sides in areas of energy, port, high-level technology and medical treatment, which are pillar industries of Houston has a bright future. She will continue promoting exchanges and cooperation between Houston and China in all fields. She is looking forward to visiting China again this year.

Consul General Gao also exchanged views with Mayor Parker on the issues of common interests.