Lieutenant Governor Jeff Colyer

Ladies and Gentlemen, dear friends,

 

      It is my great pleasure to join you this afternoon in celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year of Horse. I feel greatly honored that Lieutenant Governor Jeff Colyer is also with us today. I am very delighted to see former Governor Holden and so many old friends here. 

      I wish to express my appreciation to the Midwest US-China Chamber of Commerce, KC Chinese American Association, KU Confucius Institute and Edgar Snow Memorial Foundation for organizing this great event. In particular, I congratulate Tammy and C.J. on establishing the Midwest US-China Chamber of Commerce and I hope this organization will play an active role in promoting the cooperation between this region and China. 

      I have been to the State of Kansas and the Kansas City several times since becoming Chinese Consul General to Chicago last year. It is indeed a very important part of my job to enhance exchanges and cooperation between China and this region. With the strong leadership of Governor Brownback, the friendly relations and cooperation between the State of Kansas and China has been developing very well in recent years. The Chinese Consulate General in Chicago will continue to work hard to provide our best service to various communities here and encourage more Chinese investment in this region. 

      This year marks the 35^th anniversary of the establishment of China-US diplomatic ties. As the two largest economies and trading nations in the world, China and the US have never been so intertwined economically, and huge potential for bilateral business cooperation exists in extensive areas. Especially, the new round of reform and opening-up which was ushered in by the Third Plenum of the 18^th CPC Central Committee hast November will not only provide lasting driving force for China's sustainable development, but also broaden the prospect for China-US cooperation. China is ready to work with the US side to push forward the bilateral relationship toward the goal of building a new model of major-country relations as set up by President Xi Jiping and President Obama. 

      In Chinese culture, Horse represents prosperity and success. I hope and believe that this year will be another year of prosperity and success for the State of Kansas, for the China-US relations and for every one of you. 

      Thank you.