WSCRC

Washington State China Relations Council

PRESS RELEASE: Washington State China Relations Council Integrates Educational Programs with Asia Society Seattle

For Immediate Release

Media Contact:                                 
Name: Man Wang
Email: manw@wscrc.org
Phone: 206-389-7204

Washington State China Relations Council Integrates Educational Programs with Asia Society Seattle

New Office is International Nonprofit’s First in Pacific Northwest 

April 20, 2023 – Seattle – The Washington State China Relations Council (WSCRC), a Seattle-based nonprofit organization founded in 1979 that advocates for constructive bilateral relations and business ties, announced today it will transfer its cultural and educational programs to a newly established Asia Society Seattle office on May 1.

The WSCRC, a 501(c)(6) organization, will continue its trade-promotion and policy-advocacy work on behalf of its members throughout Washington state. These activities include helping connect government agencies and businesses across the Pacific, facilitating and leading inbound and outbound delegations to and from China, supporting foreign direct investment attraction efforts, and providing policy briefs and analysis to the Washington Congressional delegation.

The organization’s work that increases public education, advances people-to-people and cultural exchange between Washington and China and contributes to our region’s understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the bilateral relationship will be integrated into the Asia Society’s burgeoning operations in the Pacific Northwest. As a 501(c)(3), the Asia Society is not authorized to conduct trade-promotion or policy-advocacy activities.

The Board of the WSCRC has approved the integrations and shift in programming focus. Additional details regarding the opening of the Asia Society’s Seattle office will be forthcoming.

“This integration kicks off an exciting new chapter for our region, our members and Washington state businesses,” said Marc Berger, WSCRC Board Chair. “The new Asia Society Seattle office will be able to draw upon the WSCRC’s extensive experience, connections and brand equity to expand and amplify  programming that advances our shared missions. Combining the expertise, depth, and legacies of these two organizations will deliver greater value and access to our member companies and the community.”

The WSCRC is the country’s leading statewide organization dedicated to strengthening trade, commercial and civic ties with China. With a membership that includes global companies, government agencies and leading experts, the Council facilitates dialogue and organizes delegations with American and Chinese business and government leaders on key policy issues, including investment, trade, environment and diplomacy. The Council has hosted or co-hosted every Chinese leader since Deng Xiaoping, including the visit of President Xi Jinping to Seattle in 2015, as well as the 2014 Bo’ao Forum for Asia, the first time the conference was held in North America.

The Asia Society, founded in 1954 by John D. Rockefeller, is the leading educational institution dedicated to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships across people, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the United States in a global context. Across the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, the Society provides insight, generates ideas, and promotes collaboration to address present challenges and create a shared future.

China Allows Travel with Visas Issued before the Pandemic to Resume

On March 13th, the official website of the Chinese Embassy in the United States issued a notice announcing adjustments to the Chinese visa and entry policies for foreign nationals travelling to China. For the moment, the announcement is only available in Chinese on the Chinese Embassy’s website.

The notice stated that,

  1. Starting March 15, 2023, Beijing time, Chinese visas issued before March 28, 2020 and which are still valid can be used for travel to China.
  2. China’s overseas visa agencies will resume reviewing and issuing various types of Chinese visas.
  3. China’s overseas port visa agencies will resume reviewing and issuing various port visas that meet statutory reasons.
  4. China will resume visa-free entry for Hainan, for Shanghai cruise ships, for foreign groups to enter Guangdong from Hong Kong and Macau, and for ASEAN tour groups to enter Guilin, Guangxi.

The first adjustment above means that those holding multi-entry, multi-year visas are able to travel to China without any additional procedures.

The Washington State China Relations Council will advise if there are any changes or additions to these newly announced rules.

WSCRC Hosts Webinar on APEC Comes to Seattle

On March 7, Monica Hardy Whaley, President of the National Center for APEC (NCAPEC), provided a highly informative and insightful discussion on the U.S. hosting of APEC this year including a large number of meetings in Seattle. Thirty years ago in 1993, Seattle hosted the first-ever APEC Leaders’ Summit on Blake Island. Washington State and Seattle has long been at the center of U.S. engagement with the Asia-Pacific region

Monica explained that from July 29 to August 21, Seattle will host the third Senior Officials’ meetings as well as several Ministerial-level sessions. The Seattle meetings will focus on women’s empowerment, health, energy, food security, disaster management and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). All the meetings will be coupled with a theme of “digital month” in Seattle as each one of them will have a digital angle. Stacy Jehlik, Director of International Affairs at the City of Seattle, was also invited to speak about how to get involved in APEC events in Seattle. She encouraged interested businesses, organizations, and individuals to contact her (click on her name above) for opportunities such as  becoming a volunteer or a sponsor.

Exact dates for the meetings have not been confirmed yet. But a calendar for the APEC meetings in the U.S. this year provides a rough timeline of all the meetings. People can also contact Monica Whaley to stay updated with the APEC agenda.

For more information about the U.S. hosting of APEC this year, please visit the NCAPEC’s website, including on the APEC CEO Summit, a FAQ page about 2023 APEC, and NCAPEC’s blog.

Click here to rewatch the webinar.

WSCRC Publishes 2022 Fourth Quarter WA-China Report

As we enter 2023, the top story out of China is the sudden reversal of it zero-COVID policy and the subsequent national wide spread of the virus. While anecdotal stories describe huge swathes of the population being infected and widespread deaths, the government has stopped reporting case counts and fatalities. The concern, heard worldwide, is a lack of transparency from the Chinese government and a concern about new variants that might arise from China.

Now that Xi Jinping has been appointed for another five-year term as China’s leader, there is hope that he may be willing to be more conciliatory in relations with the U.S. Although a break-through in major power relations is not expected, recently Xi has softened his tone in what may be an effort to improve ties with the U.S. Whether this is just an attempt to reduce U.S. sanctions imposed on issues such as semi-conductors or Xinjiang is yet to be seen. China’s strong support of Russia continues to be a major deterrent to improving ties with the U.S. As reported below, Xi is back travelling again to strengthen China’s global position.

For many years, observers of China predicted that China’s economy (on a $ basis) would exceed that of the U.S. by 2030 or earlier. However, those predictions are being called into question as the Chinese economy has slowed due to its stringent COVID policies, which have severely impacted its important real estate sector and led to a slump in productivity and consumer demand. Our articles on both the Chinese Economy and China’s real estate sector probe into these issues more deeply.

Closer to home we highlight the drop of in the number of Chinese students studying in the U.S., which has dropped by 22% from peak numbers just three years ago. At the University of Washington, the decrease has only been 5.4%.

Read the full report here. 

2022 Year in Review and Season’s Greetings

Dear WSCRC Members and Friends,

It’s that time of year when we want to thank you for your support, to wish you and your family a happy, safe, and peaceful holiday season and all the best for 2023.

We’d also like to present you this year in review which summarizes our main activities in 2022. Tension continues to define the geopolitical relationship between the U.S. and China. The WSCRC, in cooperation with its educational and charity arm, the Washington State China Relations Fund, constantly strives to serve its members and partners by providing high quality programs and supporting local community efforts. We are grateful to all of you who joined with us this year at our various events and we look forward to your continued support in 2022.

Programs and Events

Throughout the year, we produced or co-sponsored many high quality webinars covering important issues concerning U.S.-China relations. Many of these events are briefly described below. Recordings of some of the webinars can be found at our YouTube Channel.

                                                           
Book Talk | China’s Civilian Army:                       Prospects for U.S.-China                              A conversation with Representative
The Making of Wolf Warrior Diplomacy            Collaboration in Health Care                      Adam Smith on China
Watch the webinar recording here                               Watch the Webinar Recording here                     Watch the webinar recording here

                                            
Ukraine Crisis, China, and the Global        The China Business Environment for               Supply Chain Issues Impact the
Geopolitical Landscape: Responses            U.S. Small and Medium Enterprises                 Pacific Northwest
and Implications                                               Watch the webinar recording here                           Watch the Webinar Recording here
Watch the webinar recording here

                                            
Life under Lockdown –                                 American Northwest Exports to China:          Analyzing China’s Digital Ambitions 
Stories from Shanghai                                  2022 Export Report Highlights                          Watch the webinar recording here
Watch the webinar recording here                      Watch the webinar recording here

                                             
Book Talk | the First SuperApp:                  Assessing Biden Administration’s                      Life Under Lockdown and Partial Reopening
Inside China’s WeChat and                           China Policy: Setting the Right Course              Watch the webinar recording here 
the New Digital Revolution                           Watch the webinar recording here
Watch the webinar recording here

                                               
Book Talk with the Hon. Kevin Rudd |              Current Business Environment                         Talking Semiconductors 
The Avoidable War: The Dangers of a                in China                                                                    Watch the Webinar Recording here
Catastrophic Conflict between                            Watch the webinar recording here
the US and Xi Jinping’s China

                                           

  China Town Hall                                                      Unpacking the Uyghur Forced Labor             Book Talk | Mao and Markets: The Communist
Watch the Webinar Recording here                              Prevention Act                                                      Roots of Chinese Enterprise
                                                                                              Watch the Webinar Recording here                         Watch the Webinar Recording here 

  WSCRC Washington State-China Quarterly Report

We started this project in October 2021 to provide industry leaders, government officials, and their staff timely and important information and analysis about key developments in U.S.-China relations, with a focus on those stories most relevant to Washington state. We also include an updated summary of notable China engagements and activities among our local businesses and organizations.

Read our 2022 Q1 Report here

Read our 2022 Q2 Report here

Read our 2022 Q3 Report here

Support Our Work

We thank you for your continued support of our work and mission. Such support is vitally important to the future of U.S.-China business and cultural relations. You can support us by becoming a WSCRC member or making a tax-deductible contribution to the WSCRF, the charitable arm of the Washington State China Relations Council. The WSCRF sponsors the WSCRC’s educational programs highlighting facets of the U.S.-China Relationship. For non-members, a contribution to the WSCRF is a great way to support our work.

BECOME A WSCRC MEMBER

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