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NEWS RELEASE Lieutenant Governor Brad Owen returns from China OLYMPIA — Lt. Gov. Brad Owen returned Monday from a 10-day trip to the People’s Republic of China, where he continued to build on the goodwill established from three previous trips between Washington state and one of its most important trading partners. “This was a short but very productive trip,” said Owen. “We engaged in many discussions that will further solidify Washington’s already very strong bond with China and no doubt lead to some new opportunities for trade as well as more cultural and educational exchanges.”
Making Friends Overseas
Owen and his group also met up with a delegation from Tacoma, led by Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma, who on April 5 signed a friendship agreement with Mianyang, a municipality of nearly 5.3 million in the country’s Sichuan Province. The lieutenant governor traveled to three cities in China, spending three days in the capital city of Beijing then the remainder of the trip in Chengdu and Mianyang in the Sichuan Province in the south central area. One of Owen’s meetings in Beijing was with Ambassador Yang Jiechi, vice minister of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who will accompany President Hu Jintao on his visit to the Puget Sound area next week. The lieutenant governor gave a personal letter of welcome to China’s president to Yang, who told Owen that Washington State is "very important" to China because of its ports with their container vessel capabilities as well as for its Boeing airplane manufacturing plants and the headquarters for Microsoft. Hu is expected to formally announce the country’s purchase of 80 Boeing-built aircraft during his visit. Yang said China would like to import even more from the state and the U.S. “We believe it is important for people in U.S. and China to look to the future to adapt to changing situations,” said Yang, who also noted that the country has set new goals around environmental protection and energy conservation. Another meeting was with Lu Shi-Ming, executive vice president of China’s Disabled Persons’ Federation. Lu told Owen that China is making significant progress toward improving living and working conditions for its 60 million disabled and would like to learn more from the U.S. about its legal protections and assistance for people with disabilities as well as reducing discrimination. Owen is helping to coordinate a five-city tour next month of a troupe of Chinese disabled performers, which will include performances in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tacoma, Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. Owen also had a formal meeting with Li Haifeng, China’s vice minister of Overseas Chinese Affairs. One of the highlights of Owen’s trip was a visit to a Chengdu primary school, where he and his group were warmly welcomed with flowers and red scarves and treated to musical performances by several students. In turn the lieutenant governor borrowed a guitar and to the students’ delight played and sang an American folk song for them. “I try to visit a school whenever I travel,” Owen said. “The children at this school made us feel particularly welcome.” As a result of the visit the school’s headmaster expressed an interest in establishing relationships with one or more schools in Washington. While in Chengdu, Owen signed as a witness a memorandum of understanding that supports frequent, bilateral cultural exchanges of visiting performances or exhibitions between the two jurisdictions through 2010. The memorandum is between the Washington-Sichuan Friendship Association and the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Bureau. Washington State and the Sichuan Province will mark their 25th year of Sister State/Province relationship in 2007. Owen met with more officials in Mianyang, toured one of the country’s largest electronics plants and a public market and took a field trip to the Wanglang Panda Preserve in the northern part of Sichuan. Photos, sound clips and more information on the trip will be posted lon the lieutenant governor’s Web site at http://www.ltgov.wa.gov ### For more information contact:
Brian
Dirks
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Lt.
Gov. Brad Owen and Mrs. Linda Owen sit with pupils at the
Chengdu Normal School in the Sichuan Province of China on April
6. The students gave the lieutenant governor and his
delegation a warm welcome, treating them to dance and musical
performances. At right a student is playing a string
instrument called a pipa. Owen, in turn, played an American folk
song for the students on a borrowed guitar (below).
(Lt. Governor staff photos).