WSCRC

Washington State China Relations Council

WSCRC Donates General Gift from SF Consulate to UW Medicine

In April 2020, the Washington State China Relations Council (WSCRC) received a generous gift of masks from the PRC’s San Francisco Consulate. The WSCRC greatly appreciates the Consulate’s support of our fight against COVID-19 in Washington state, and truly appreciates and values this donation as evidence of our mutual collaboration over the years. To pass on the support and best wishes, WSCRC donated the masks to health workers and researchers at UW Medicine, which has played a central role in Washington’s—and the nation’s—clinical, research and public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S.-China relationship is under a great deal of stress now, coronavirus or not. WSCRC will continue to work to support a balanced and rational discussion between the two countries, particularly working at the sub-national level where leaders on both sides of the Pacific wish to cooperate and create peace and prosperity for both countries. That work is more critical now than ever.

 

WSCRF Facilitates the City of Hangzhou PPE Donation to Seattle

Seattle (April 30, 2020) – The Washington State China Relations Council’s (WSCRC) new sister organization, the Washington State China Relations Fund (WSCRF), this week received a shipment of 10,000 N95-equivalent masks donated by the City of Hangzhou. Acting on behalf of the final recipient, the City of Seattle, the WSCRF, as a charitable organization, was able to import the masks duty free under new rules recently implemented by the Customs and Border Protection Agency. WSCRF’s involvement in this transaction helped to expedite the shipment and ensure that the masks could meet immediate needs.

The masks were delivered this week to the warehouse of the Fire Department of the City of Seattle. The masks will be used by fire and police personnel.

The City of Seattle signed an MOU with the City of Hangzhou in 2016. Hangzhou, home to Alibaba, was one of several cities visited by a recent Washington trade delegation coordinated by the WSCRC. During the visit, the delegation conducted very productive discussions with the Deputy Mayor of Hangzhou, visited Zhejiang University, and met with a number of technology companies with interests in investing in the Seattle area. Hangzhou had planned to send reciprocal delegations to Seattle to explore further collaboration opportunities between the two cities in February and May respectively, but was forced to postpone these trips due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Mayor Durkan expressed the City’s appreciation to the City of Hangzhou, noting that this gesture further strengthens the bonds of friendship between the two cities. The Mayor also commended the Washington State China Relations Council for its efforts to foster this important relationship over the years. Despite the ongoing challenges in U.S.-China relations, this act of benevolence from Hangzhou illustrates the strong, resilient ties between cities on both sides of the Pacific, and offers a way forward for strengthening commercial, scientific, and public health collaboration. The WSCRC will continue to play a pivotal role in these efforts.

The WSCRF plans to assist the City with future donations of imported PPEs from China.

To learn more about WSCRC, please visit www.wscrc.org.

WSCRC Creates New Entity Allowing Duty Free Imports of PPE to Fight COVID-19

April 13, 2020

The Washington State China Relations Council, a 501(c)(6) organization, announced today that it has created a new sister organization, the Washington State China Relations Fund (WSCRF). The new entity is a 501(c)(3) organization, able to accept tax-deductible charitable donations.

The new entity was founded to provide more solid financial grounding for the Council’s educational programs. The Council runs many programs focused on business, cultural and educational topics that impact the relationship between Washington state and China. The Council hopes that by providing an opportunity to make tax-deductible contributions, both long-term supporters and other interested parties will help contribute the resources needed to expand the Council’s efforts to improve ties between Washington state and China.

The establishment of WSCRF could not come as a more opportune time as U.S. Customs has recently ruled that 501(c)(3) organizations are able to import donated personal protective equipment (PPE) from abroad duty free. The WSCRF has quickly filed the required documents and will act as the importer of record for a shipment of masks donated to the City of Seattle by the City of Hangzhou, which are due to arrive in Seattle next week. The Washington State China Relations Fund is also working with entities in China as well as local organizations to facilitate additional imports of PPE for Washington’s medical community.

We are extremely pleased that this entity is able to quickly transition to a role as an importer of PPE.  Although the long term plan for the WSCRF is to provide educational programs focused on improving our relations with China, we are glad that WSCRF is able to tangibly assist in the fight against COVID-19.

To read about the new ruling from the U.S. Customs Bureau regarding duty free imports of PPE, click here.

For more information about the Washington State China Relations Fund, or to make a donation, please contact:

Nor Coquillard   email: ncoquillard@wscrc.org

Man Wang         email: manw@wscrc.org

Doctor Dispatched to Wuhan Shares his Stories with WSCRC

Dr. Xu Xiaomin, a Chinese doctor dispatched to Wuhan in the first wave of medical personnel sent to the city to combat Covid 19 spoke to WSCRC members and friends on March 31. Dr. Xu, a specialist in nosocomial infection control, microbiological testing, and drug resistant bacterial infections was assigned to Wuhan No. 4 hospital for a period of two months.

Dr. Xu shared some of his personal experiences of what it was like to be working at the heart of the outbreak. He also elaborated on some of his ideas on where governments should put their efforts to stem the virus.  He noted that he would focus on three areas: resources, technology and training. For example, without sufficient quantities of PPEs, ventilators, and hospital beds, the virus can quickly overwhelm the health care system. In the area of technology, he noted that rapid testing is particularly important such that high quality testing kits are crucial.  Dr. Xu also commented that not only doctors and nurses needed training to cope with the new virus; hospital administrators also needed to be trained as new processes and procedures were required to cope with the pandemic.

He noted that China’s method of treatment evolved over the two months and that various treatments were developed depending on the severity of the patients’ conditions. Although he is trained in Western medicine, he noted that in many cases Chinese traditional medicine appeared to be effective.

Over 50 people participated in this webinar and many questions were posed to Dr. Xu over the 90 minutes of the session.

Webinar Recap: Operating under Coronavirus Restrictions: Tales from China

On March 25, James Loudon, the General Manager and Forum Director of IMA Asia shared with our webinar participants many of the best practices that were developed by companies operating in China during the height of the coronavirus lockdown.

IMA Asia’s members include most of the Fortune 500’s Asian operations. IMA provides them with macro-economic consulting but also runs peer group forums for these companies’ Asian (particularly China) CEOs and CFOs. When travel restrictions were imposed in China, IMA quickly moved their meetings online. Many of the corporate executives called in daily to share stories and learn from their peers.

James described how IMA and many other companies quickly adapted to digital technology to stay in touch with their clients and to improve the effectiveness of “working from home”. James also noted that, in many factories or distribution centers, the work force was divided into teams to operate on different schedules and were not in contact with each other. This was to provide assurance that if a team member of one group became sick, the other team could still function effectively.

James also addressed the issue of pay during times of crisis. He noted that his clients in China instituted a number of different strategies. Some service firms promised eleven months of pay to their employees and to return the lost month if annual revenues met budget, while others granted extra bonuses to their employees to help them go through the crisis.

Notes from James’ talk will be posted on our website in the near future.

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Washington State China Relations Council

1301 5th Avenue, Suite 1500 Seattle, WA 98101-2611

Tel: (206) 441 - 4419

E-mail: info@wscrc.org

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