Dinner in Honor of President Hu Jintao

On April 20, 2006, the National Committee co-hosted a dinner in Washington, DC in honor of Hu Jintao, president of the People’s Republic of China. This provided the occasion for President Hu’s only public address in Washington, DC. In his remarks, President Hu noted that U.S.-China relations have grown beyond the bilateral context and have become increasingly global in importance. He recommended that China and the United States maintain and expand consultations at all levels, expand the foundation for economic cooperation and trade, adhere to the principles of the three joint communiqués regarding Taiwan, maintain close cooperation on anti-terrorism and other major and regional issues, strengthen people-to-people exchanges and see common ground and shelve differences on issues such as human rights. Questions from the audience focused on the bilateral trade relationship and on the substance of President Hu’s discussion with President George W. Bush. More than 900 guests attended the event, including U.S. and Chinese government officials, business executives, academic and think tank specialists, media and others. The National Committee co-hosted the event with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the US-China Business Council, in cooperation with the America-China Forum, Asia Society, Brookings Institution, Center for Strategic and International Studies, China General Chamber of Commerce – USA, China Institute, Committee of 100, Council on Foreign Relations and US-China Policy Foundation.