On January 19, During a visit to Arkansas, Chinese Consul General Xu Erwen met with Mr. David Pryor, former governor of Arkansas and U.S. Senator, and Mr. Jim Turker, former Governor of Arkansas and U.S. Congressman. Consul Yao Weike from the Chinese Consulate General in Houston and Mr. Hamer from Arkansas Economic Development Commission were present.

Consul General Xu gave her appreciation to the two former governors and U.S. lawmakers for their long-standing support to China-U.S. relationship, and briefed them with the latest development of China and China-U.S. relationship. Consul General Xu said that the current bilateral relationship between China and the U.S. is in good shape, with frequent exchanges of high-level visits and growing shared interests. The two countries are the second largest trade partners to each other, with bilateral trade volume exceeding 440 billion U.S. dollars in 2011. The exchanges and cooperation between China and Arkansas is developing rapidly as well. China has become the fourth largest exporting market and the largest origin of import for Arkansas. The Chinese side encourages the enterprises from both sides to continue enhancing trade exchanges and expand two-way investment and to further developing the mutually beneficial cooperation in such areas as new energy, agriculture, etc. Consul General Xu looked forward to working together with Mr. Pryor and Mr. Turker in making further contribution to the China-U.S. cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit.

Mr. Pryor and Mr. Turker applauded China’s great economic achievements and said that people of both countries benefit a lot from a healthy China-U.S. relationship. They recognized that there is great potential of cooperation in economic and educational areas. They also expressed their willingness to make efforts for a better China-U.S. partnership.