In June 2007, the National Committee worked with long-time partner, the National League of Cities (NLC), and new partner, the League of California Cities (LCC) on a ten-day study tour to Beijing, Qingdao and Shanghai for mayors, city council members, and the NLC and LCC leadership.

The National Committee co-organized a conference with the School of Finance of Renmin University of China in Beijing in July 2006. The conference focused on the changing dynamics between China's central and provincial governments through the lens of fiscal reform.

Susan A. Thornton delivered the 2019 Barnett-Oksenberg Lecture on Sino-American Relations in Shanghai on May 15, 2019. Now in its twelfth iteration, this annual lecture affords the opportunity for a frank and forthright discussion of current and potential issues between the two countries; it is the first and only ongoing lecture series on U.S.-China relations that takes place on the Mainland.