On April 28, in a private room in New York City, AFPC hosted a small dinner for China’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Liu Jieyi. Amb. Liu, in his previous position as Deputy Foreign Minister, held meetings with numerous AFPC delegations in Beijing. Following opening remarks by John Train, President of the Train Foundation, and AFPC President Herman Pirchner, Jr., Amb. Liu outlined China’s positions on a range of major bilateral issues affecting the Sino-American relationship.
He also spoke at some length regarding China’s official position on current territorial disputes in the East and South China seas. Liu’s remarks were followed by a lively Q&A session that featured contributions by former U.S. Under Secretary of State Bill Schneider, former Assistant Secretary of State and Ambassador to China Winston Lord, and legendary China hand Amb. Nicholas Platt.
AFPC will next take a delegation of senior American statesmen to China from June 22-29. A brief trip report will be included in our fall 2014 newsletter.