On March 2, the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and the State Legislative Leaders Foundation of the United States (SLLF) co-hosted a video conference of the Fifth China-US Subnational Legislatures Cooperation Forum with the theme of "Win-win Cooperation for a New Chapter". This year's forum is the first institutional activity of exchange and cooperation between China and the United States to have resumed after the new US administration took office. It is of special significance as it aims to implement the important consensus reached by the heads of state of China and the United States during the Spring Festival telephone call.
China and the United States attach great importance to and take an active part in this forum. Lin Songtian, President of the CPAFFC, and Stephen Lakis, President of SLLF, addressed the forum. Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai sent a video address to the forum and sent his envoy to the forum. Li Yingjin, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of Beijing Municipal People's Congress, and leaders of the Standing Committees of People's Congress of Hebei, Shanxi, Jiangsu, Hubei, Guangdong, and Yunnan provinces, as well as state legislative leaders of Alabama, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Michigan, and Tennessee, attended the meeting and delivered speeches.
Lin Songtian, President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, delivering a speech
Cui Tiankai, Chinese Ambassador to the United States, delivering a video address
Stephen Lakis, President of SLLF, delivering a speech
During the meeting, Li Yingjin introduced the work of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress in formulating laws and regulations and conducting law enforcement inspections in 2020. He also introduced the goals in the coming five years: the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress would focus on the development goals of the 14th Five-Year Plan period and the major tasks of Beijing, do its best to ensure the legislative oversight of the People's Congress, adhere to the people-centered development philosophy, and better leverage the advantages of the system of people's congresses and the role of deputies to people's congresses, so as to provide a strong legal guarantee for the task and requirement of taking the lead in exploring an effective path for building a new pattern of development. He said that as President Xi Jinping pointed out, it is the common aspiration of people of both countries and the international community to promote the healthy and sustained development of China-U.S. relations, and the two countries should make joint efforts to work together in the same direction. Beijing is willing to continue to strengthen cooperation with US states and cities and make its contributions to the healthy and stable development of China-US relations. The Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress will make full use of the mechanism and platform of the forum to actively carry out exchanges with the local legislatures of the United States.
Li Yingjin, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress, delivering a speech
The participants introduced the development characteristics of their jurisdictions, and the results of exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and US sub-national governments, especially between sister cities. They also made suggestions on how to enhance mutual understanding, friendship, and mutual trust, and strengthen friendly exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation at sub-national levels in the future. They expressed their common hope to promote the sound and steady development of China-US relations, to work together to meet global challenges, to leverage cooperation mechanisms between provincial and state legislatures, and to promote bilateral exchanges and cooperation at the sub-national level.
This is the second time since the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress attended the forum for the first time in 2019, which further deepened the institutional exchanges and cooperation between Beijing and the US state legislatures.
In order to follow through the outcomes of President Xi Jinping's visit to the US in 2015, the CPAFFC and the SLLF signed an agreement in December 2015 to establish a mechanism for exchanges between Chinese and US subnational legislatures. Since the inception of the mechanism, the two sides have successfully held four forums in both China and the United States, attended by 33 leaders of people's congresses of Chinese provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) and 81 leaders of state legislatures in the United States. The forum has played a positive role in enhancing practical cooperation at the sub-national level and promoting the healthy development of China-US relations and won recognition and praise from both sides.