Great progress has been made in friendly relations between China and the US, and 2018 will be an important year to the success of those relations between the world's two largest economies, Chinese Consul General in San Francisco Luo Linquan said at a celebration.

Hundreds gathered Monday night at the Chinese consulate in San Francisco to celebrate the coming Chinese New Year, which starts on Feb 16.

Luo told guests that he's been in San Francisco for more than three years and has witnessed the friendly exchanges and steady cooperation between China and the US in the consular regions, including Northern California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Alaska.

In June, California Governor Jerry Brown visited China, and met with President Xi Jinping on strengthening economic and trade investment, clean technology, low-carbon environmental protection and cultural exchanges.

In April, Xi stopped in Alaska during his visit to the US, and met with Governor Bill Walker, who visited China in September. Two months later, he visited China again with US President Donald Trump and signed a landmark $43 billion agreement on a natural gas pipeline and liquefied natural gas export terminal in Alaska with China.

"The cooperation on trade, technology, education and culture in the states of our consular region has been booming," said Luo. "It has been proven that the practical cooperation between the counterparts from China and the states of our consular region will surely benefit the peoples of both sides, and bring tangible benefits to the vast number of overseas Chinese in the United States."

Guests at the celebration include local elected officials. London Breed, president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, said the sister-city relationship between San Francisco and Shanghai is "amazing".

She told the guests that she was with the late San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee on a trip in 2013 to Beijing and Shanghai to foster business relationships between China and San Francisco.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com