On September 17th, 2018, the Consulate General held talks with the heads of relevant departments and local governments of Guangdong Province on deepening exchanges and cooperation between Guangdong and the Midwest. The delegation from Guangdong came to Chicago for the Mayors’ Training Program on Urban Sustainability. Acting Consul General Liu Jun, Deputy Consul General Yu Peng, Education Counselor Chen Yinghui, Commercial Counselor Zou Xiaoming, Science and Technology Counselor Jiang Dehua, Head of Cultural Affairs office Consul Zhang Min, Head of Political and Press Affairs Office Consul Shen Qiwen, as well as Research Group Leader and Head of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Transportation Li Jing, Mayor of Shantou City Zheng Jiange, Mayor of Heyuan City Ye Meifen, Mayor of Maoming City Xu Zhihui, and others from the Guangdong delegation were among over 30 people in attendance.

The two sides exchanged views on further broadening exchanges in fields such as culture and education and expanding pragmatic cooperation in fields such as trade and investment. All agreed that Guangdong, as China’s largest provincial economy, possesses advantageous resources in the fields of economy, trade, science and technology and people-to-people exchanges. Further cooperation with the Midwest boasts vast potentials. Both sides can, on the basis of friendly province-state and city-city relations, continue to unearth greater potential, further expand people-to-people exchanges, develop pragmatic cooperation, promote in-depth development of relations between Guangdong Province and the Midwest, and deliver more benefits to the people of both places.