Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping finished a five-day trip to the United States with a stop in California that included meetings with US government officials and private sector leaders, and meeting schoolchildren who are studying Chinese.

"China has made the most remarkable progress in the shortest amount of time of maybe any country in history," US Vice-President Joe Biden said at a lunch to welcome Xi to Los Angeles on Feb 17.

Biden and Xi visited students studying Mandarin at an international school, attended a Lakers basketball game and met local leaders, US governors and Chinese provincial officials. They also visited the port of Los Angeles.

China's San Francisco Consul General Gao Zhansheng accompanied Li Hongzhong, Party secretary of the Communist Party of China's Hubei Provincial Committee, to attend Hubei Night last week in Silicon Valley. California Governor Jerry Brown, San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee and Oakland Mayor Jean Quan also attended the event. Li made a speech, and Gao and Brown addressed the crowd, all expressing eagerness to boost cooperation between Hubei and California. Several agreements were signed on Feb 18.

The Academy of China Performing Arts presented the highlights of its repertoire at the eighth Firecrackers Festival at the Visual & Performing Arts Center of Cupertino. Deputy Consul General Song Ruan and Culture Counselor Sun Jianhua, Democratic California State Assembly member Paul Fong and Senior Field Representative at California State Assembly Andrae Macapinalac were among the invited guests who watched the performance. San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, Cupertino Mayor Mark Santoro and Milpitas Mayor Jose Esteves sent congratulatory messages.

Chinese Consul General in Houston Xu Erwen took a preview tour of the new building of the Asia Society Texas Center, which opens in April. Consul Cai Lian, Consul Zhou Yujiang and representatives of the Chinese community in Houston were also present. Accompanied by Lily Foster, wife of Asia Society Texas Center Chairman Charles Foster, and Martha Blackwelder, executive director of the center, Xu was briefed on the major facilities in the new building, including the performing arts theater, the grand hall, the art gallery and the gardens.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/24/2012 page23)