Between October 22 and 25, the American Foreign Policy Council hosted a delegation from China’s International Department led by Vice Minister Yu Hongjun. AFPC’s Rich Harrison, along with researcher Adam Jankowski, escorted the delegates to meetings and tourist attractions in Washington, DC, Austin, and Houston, and arranged meetings for the trip.
These included a dinner for the delegation hosted by AFPC. Guests included Amb. Richard McCormack, former Under Secretary of State; Wayne Merry, former career Foreign Service officer, and Amb. David Shinn. The itinerary for the delegation prepared by AFPC included a meeting with former Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Dr. Kurt Campbell; a visit to the State Department to meet with current Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Susan Thornton; meetings with several DC-based think tanks; a tour of the Capitol Building in Austin to see the State Legislature; and a meeting in Houston with Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. Throughout, conversations focused on finding areas of cooperation for the U.S. and China to minimize chances of conflict, specifically cooperating on humanitarian missions, joint disaster operations and improving military communication.
