This year presented the Washington State China Relations Council (WSCRC) with distinct challenges. Covid-19 and probably the darkest period in the U.S.-China relationship since the opening of diplomatic relations in 1979 meant that we could not continue business as usual. With the onset of the pandemic, we had to pivot quickly to adapt to the new environment and to find ways to continue to honor our 41-year legacy and carry out our mission. Pandemic induced changes did however, provided us opportunities to work closely with many of our members and to forge new partnerships as we adapted to the world of Zoom. Although we were unable to meet with delegations from China or travel to China, we strived to maintain relationships on both sides of the Pacific.
In 2020, we hosted and partnered in 40 programs–webinars, and delegations–among which all the programs held since mid-March (35) were virtual due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. These high impact programs helped our community gain new insight into key U.S.-China related issues, as well as best practices and lessons learned from fighting Covid-19 from both China and our members. We also established a sister organization, the Washington State China Relations Fund (WSCRF), to support the Council’s educational and cultural programs, and to provide support to the local Chinese community and local governments.
This year in review provides a summary of our work carried out in 2020, along with membership and leadership updates.
Click here to read the full report.