The overseas Chinese community in Los Angeles held a dinner to warmly welcome Vice President Xi Jinping (photo)

The overseas Chinese community in Los Angeles held a dinner to warmly welcome Vice President Xi Jinping (photo) (Comprehensive report by our reporter in Los Angeles, Zhen Songwei) …

(Comprehensive report by Zhen Songwei, our reporter in Los Angeles)

Vice President Xi Jinping spoke at a dinner hosted by overseas Chinese

On the evening of the 16th, the overseas Chinese in Los Angeles welcomed Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping to a dinner, which was held in the banquet hall on the third floor of the Marriott Hotel (JW.) in the downtown area of Los Angeles and lasted for two The 10,000-foot banquet hall was magnificently decorated on the day. The words "Los Angeles Overseas Chinese Welcome Vice Chairman Xi Jinping's Visit to Los Angeles Dinner" were particularly eye-catching above the rostrum with a bright red background. Ten national flags of China and the United States were arranged on both sides, with clusters of flowers, and the bright red and yellow patterned carpet made it more peaceful and festive. There were 30 chief guests at the rectangular main table decorated in red tone in front of the rostrum, 20 VIP seats were lined up on both sides, and the remaining 30 seats were representatives of various overseas Chinese groups. 530 people attended the banquet (including 70 people accompanying Vice Chairman Xi Jinping). The dinner started with the band playing the national anthems of China and the United States. Ms. Zhang Sujiu, a representative of the overseas Chinese community, gave a welcome speech. She said that she welcomed and thanked Vice President Xi Jinping and his delegation for taking time to gather with overseas Chinese during their intensive visit to the United States. She reviewed the work of the Chinese and overseas Chinese in Los Angeles in celebrating China's National Day, supporting the Beijing Olympics, Shanghai World Expo, safeguarding cross-strait reunification, and earthquake relief. She said that she was proud to be Chinese, proud to have a strong motherland, and proud to participate in the motherland. We are proud of our development and construction. She ended her speech with "Welcome again." Vice President Xi Jinping delivered a warm speech at the dinner. He reviewed the results of his visit to the United States, introduced China's domestic political and economic development, and thanked the Chinese and overseas Chinese for their outstanding contributions in promoting Sino-US friendship and cooperation between the two countries. He also put forward three ardent hopes to the overseas Chinese: 1. Continue to carry forward the fine tradition of the Chinese nation of "valuing peace and harmonizing all nations" and strive to become a model of living in harmony with the people of the host country; 2. Continue to leverage the unique advantages of being familiar with the host country and understanding the country of origin, and strive to become a model of promoting China's modernization drive and getting along well with people around the world; 3. Continue to leverage the unique advantages of understanding Chinese culture, strive to promote Chinese culture and promote Chinese cultural exchanges.

Also present at the dinner were Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Education Minister Yuan Guiren, Agriculture Minister Han Changfu, Director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office Li Haifeng, Vice Minister of Commerce and International Trade Negotiator Gao Hucheng, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Zhang Yesui, etc. This was the only overseas Chinese banquet attended by Vice President Xi Jinping during his visit to the United States. The dinner menu is Western-style, including appetizer salad, grilled chicken breast, salmon, vegetables and desserts. The drinks are coffee, tea and California red wine. The entire dinner was interspersed with theatrical performances, including waist drum, ballet, instrumental music, solo singing, etc. The entire dinner lasted for two hours, and the atmosphere was warm and peaceful. Li Haifeng, director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council of China, and his delegation arrived in Los Angeles on the 15th. Li Haifeng's trip was mainly to assist the Consulate General and overseas Chinese associations in organizing the welcome dinner. As soon as Li Haifeng arrived, he went to the Marriott Hotel where the dinner was held to express condolences to the overseas Chinese and international students attending the welcome event. In order to carry out this activity of the overseas Chinese community welcoming Vice Chairman Xi Jinping, the Chinese overseas Chinese in Los Angeles and Chinese students studying abroad formed the "Southern California Welcomes Vice Chairman Xi Jinping's Visit to Los Angeles Headquarters". The "Command Headquarters" began operations in the afternoon of the 15th and stood guard 24 hours a day in front of the Marriott Hotel where Vice Chairman Xi Jinping stayed until the afternoon of the 17th. Professional Chinese security guards were also invited to patrol, and the vigil operation was carried out in marathon shifts around the clock.

> Vice Chairman Xi Jinping visited China Shipping Los Angeles Port Terminal and talked with the crew

Vice President Xi Jinping arrived at the Los Angeles International Airport at 1:40 pm on the 16th. California Governor Brown, Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa, Ambassador Qiu Shaofang, Consul General of the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles and other Chinese and American officials, overseas Chinese, overseas students, and representatives of Chinese-funded institutions came to greet him at the airport. Immediately after Vice Chairman Xi Jinping arrived, he was accompanied by Chinese and American officials such as California Governor Brown, Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa, China Shipping Group Chairman Li Shaode, and visited China Shipping Westport Terminal, and cordially met with the crew of China Shipping's "Europe" cargo ship. After the visit, Vice Chairman Xi Jinping said that China Shipping’s success at the Port of Los Angeles once again confirmed the win-win nature of Sino-US economic and trade cooperation, demonstrated the potential for cooperation between the two sides in the field of resources, and also showed that as long as China and the United States seize the opportunity and move toward each other, they will surely create more cooperation highlights. Before Vice President Xi Jinping arrived in Los Angeles, the provincial and mayoral economic and trade delegation had arrived in Los Angeles one day in advance and was welcomed by relevant institutions and the overseas Chinese community. Su Shulin, Governor of Fujian Province, led a 30-member economic and trade delegation to negotiate cooperation and investment in various fields; Chongqing was originally led by Mayor Huang Qifan, but was unable to make the trip for some reason. Director Wang Yi leads a 15-member delegation. According to Wang Yi, the delegation will sign a US$1.39 billion cooperation project in Los Angeles, formally establish a sister city alliance with Camlan, and hold high-level talks on two-way direct flights at Los Angeles International Airport. Vice President Xi Jinping's five-day visit to the United States was at the invitation of Vice President Biden. This visit is an important high-level exchange between China and the United States this year. It aims to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and promote the construction of Sino-US cooperative partnership. The biggest highlight of the visit to Los Angeles is economic and trade cooperation and cultural exchanges. On the 17th, Vice President Xi Jinping and his delegation left the United States for visits to Ireland and Türkiye.