From February 23 to March 3, 2009, AFPC sponsored a ten-person delegation to China led by Dr. William Schneider, Jr., former Undersecretary of State and current Chairman of the Pentagon's Defense Science Board. 

During their stay in China, delegation members held discussions with a wide range of senior Chinese leaders, including those in the Foreign Ministry, the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the International Department of the CPC, the banking sector and policy experts from Chinese think tanks and universities.

The delegation also traveled to the cities of Xiamen and Fuzhou in the southeastern province of Fujian, directly across from Taiwan. There, delegation members witnessed strong economic development far removed from the nation's capital, and discussed China's warming relations with Taiwan.

In meeting after meeting, delegation members heard detailed discussions of the current warming trend in Sino-Taiwanese relations - and of the ultimate inevitability of political, economic and cultural reunification. Based on these developments, Chinese officials now say that movement toward reunification is "unstoppable."

China's stance toward Taiwan also prompted discussions regarding its military modernization. Officials characterized their military development as merely aimed at "catching up" to the U.S. and other military powers. They also made clear that the build-up of armaments near Taiwan was only designed to deter any external "interference" in the ultimate reunification of Taiwan with the Mainland.

Delegation members also assessed the impact the global economic crisis on China. To date, an estimated 150 million rural Chinese have migrated to cities as part of the country's "urbanization" trend. Of those, some 20 million have now lost their jobs and are being forced to return home. The rate of construction in China has likewise dipped, falling by some 10 percent over 2008 levels as a result of dwindling investment and plummeting property values. Still, Beijing believes that it is better insulated from the global financial crisis than its Western counterparts, and has officially announced that it is aiming for an eight percent annual growth rate in 2009.