On April 18, 2019, the WSCRC, in partnership with the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma, the Northwest Seaport Alliance and Garvey Schubert Barer hosted the 40th anniversary celebration of the arrival of the Liu Lin Hai in Seattle. The reception event commemorated the resumption of direct shipping relations between the People’s Republic of China and the United States that took place on April 18, 1979, with the docking of M.V. Liu Lin Hai at the Port of Seattle, following a three-decade hiatus. It also honored Stan Barer, founding member of the WSCRC and name partner of GSB, for his role and extraordinary contributions to U.S.-China relations during the past 40 years. Speakers at the event include Consul General Wang Donghua from the San Francisco Consulate, Port of Seattle Commission Ryan Calkins, Port of Tacoma Commissioner Clare Petrich, President of COSCO North America Feng Bo, CEO at SSA Marie Knud Stubkjaer and CEO of Northwest Seaport Alliance John Wolfe.

On April 17 and 18, accompanied by the interim director of the WSCRC Man Wang, Consul General Wang Donghua from the PRC’s San Francisco Consulate visited the Snohomish County Executive Office, the Economic Alliance of Snohomish County, the Port of Everett, the Washington State Department of Commerce and the City of Bellevue. Consul Wang discussed with leaders from those agencies on the importance of promoting and strengthening a healthy bilateral relationship between Washington state and China. All parties acknowledged the importance of collaborations in trade at this critical stage of U.S-China relations. New to the region, Consul Wang was very impressed with the economic status and business environment in Washington state.

On March 29 and March 30, 2019, the delegation met with a diverse group of local industry leaders, businesses, economic development organizations, academics, and civic and community leaders, including WSCRC members Global Innovation Exchange and Boeing, to discuss the impacts of the ongoing trade war on Washington state.

The delegates came away with a positive impression of Washington state and its commercial and cultural linkages with China. Delegates were grateful for the chance to see and hear about a far less fractious relationship than what often comes out of the “other” Washington. While the ongoing trade dispute has fomented a large amount of negative attention, businesses and civic leaders in Washington are committed to a strong and robust relationship with China. Washington state businesses and governments and view this relationship as critical to the state’s long-term economic success.