The Foundation completed its annual delegation visit to the United States from 24 to 27 June 2014. The main purpose of the delegation was to foster a better understanding of the political, economic and social developments in both the United States and Hong Kong.
This year’s delegation was led by the Foundation’s Executive Committee Chairman Mr. Ronnie Chan, Chairman of Hang Lung Properties Ltd. Delegates included Council Members Mr. Philip Ma, Deputy Chairman & CEO of The Sincere Co Ltd; Mr. John Lee, Managing Director of Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Mr. Andrew Yao, Chairman of Van Shung Chong Holdings Ltd; and Mr. Dario Pong, Managing Director of Ferro Resources Ltd as well as Executive Director Ms. Karen Tang. The Foundation also invited Mr. Johnny Mok, Member of the Basic Law Committee of the HKSAR and Senior Counsel as the invited expert of the delegation.
The Delegation: (L to R) Mr. Ronnie Chan, Ms. Karen Tang, Mr. John Lee, Mr. Johnny Mok, Mr. Philip Ma, Mr. Andrew Yao and Mr. Dario Pong
The delegation visited the Executive Branch (U.S. Department of State and National Security Council); members of the Legislative Branch (Congresswoman and congressional staffers); think tanks (The Brookings Institution, The Heritage Foundation, Center for American Progress, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the U.S.-Asia Institute); a financial institution (Morgan Stanley); a rating agency (Standard & Poor’s); NGOs (Asia Society, America China Public Affairs Institute and Hong Kong Association of New York) and media (The Economist, The New York Times and The Washington Post). The delegation also visited the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Washington DC.
The delegation was honored that the Embassy of the PRC in the U.S. (Ambassador Cui Tiankai) and the Consulate-General of the PRC in New York (Ambassador Sun Guoxiang and Deputy Consul General Cheng Lei) hosted luncheons to welcome the delegation respectively. The delegation was also received by the Permanent Mission of the PRC to the UN (Ambassador Liu Jieyi) in New York.
This regular updates and dialogue with the business community in New York and among interlocutors inside the Beltway is important in enhancing greater mutual understanding. The Foundation will endeavor to organize these kinds of visit to promote better understanding and collaboration.
(Please click here to view the bios of the delegates.)
Itinerary
Washington D.C.
24 June 2014 (Tuesday)
Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office
– Mr. Kenneth Chan, Deputy Director-General
– Mr. Bill Wong, Assistant Director-General
– Ms. Crystal Lam, Assistant Director-General
The Brookings Institution
– Dr. Richard Bush, Director, Center for East Asia Policy Studies and Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, John L. Thornton China Center
– Dr. Doug Paal, Vice President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
– Dr. Michael Martin, Specialist in Asian Affairs, Congressional Research Service
Capitol Hill Luncheon Meeting hosted by the U.S.-Asia Institute
The Heritage Foundation
– Mr. Walter Lohman, Director, Asian Studies Center
– Mr. Dean Cheng, Senior Research Fellow, Asian Studies Center
– Mr. Bill Wilson, Senior Research Fellow for Asia Economy, Asian Studies Center
– Mr. John Von Kannon, Vice President and Senior Counselor
– Mr. Mike Gonzalez, Senior Fellow, Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy
– Mr. Kim Holmes, Distinguished Fellow
U.S. Department of State
– Mr. Kin Moy, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
– Mr. Joel Wiegert, Hong Kong Desk Officer, Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs
National Security Council
– Ms. Nancy Leou, Director for China and Korean Affairs
Meeting at the U.S. Department of State
25 June 2014 (Wednesday)
Breakfast Meeting hosted by the America China Public Affairs Institute
Center for American Progress
– Mr. Vikram Singh, Vice President, National Security and International Policy
– Mr. Rudy deLeon, Senior Fellow, National Security and International Policy
– Dr. Melanie Hart, Director, China Energy and Climate Policy
– Ms. Aarthi Gunasekaran, Research Assistant, National Security and International Policy
Lunch hosted by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China
– Ambassador Cui Tiankai
– Ms. Xu Xueyuan, Political Counselor, Chief of Political Section
– Mr. Wang Qing, Political Section
The Washington Post
– Mr. Fred Hiatt, Editorial Page Editor
Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-NY)
Ambassador Cui Tiankai (middle) hosting a luncheon for the delegation
New York
26 June 2014 (Thursday)
The U.S.-Asia Institute Breakfast
– Mrs. Esther Lau-Kee, Trustee
– Mr. Norman Lau-Kee, Trustee
– Mr. David Lew, Trustee
– Dr. Michael Lai, Senior Advisor
The New York Times
– Ms. Carol Giacomo, Editorial Board Member
Luncheon hosted by the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in New York
– Ambassador Sun Guoxiang, Consul General
– Mr. Cheng Lei, Deputy Consul General
– Mr. Zhang Minjing, Consul
– Mr. Guo Zhenguang, Consul
The Economist
– Mr. Matthew Bishop, US Business Editor and New York Bureau Chief
– Mr. Matthew Valencia, Special Assignments Editor
– Mr. Tom Easton, American Finance Editor
Standard & Poor’s
– Mr. Curt Moulton, Global Head of the Sovereigns and International Public Finance
– Mr. Todd Whitestone, Managing Director, Sovereign Ratings
Asia Society: President’s Forum with Arianna Huffington, Chair, President, and Editor-in-chief, Huffington Post Media Group
Meeting at Standard & Poor’s
27 June 2014 (Friday)
Breakfast Meeting hosted by Hong Kong Association of New York
Morgan Stanley
– Ms. Ellen Zentner, Executive Director and Senior Economist for the U.S.
– Mr. David Lew, Senior Vice President, Morgan Stanley
Speaking Luncheon hosted by Asia Society: “Hong Kong’s Future: Autonomy and the Road to 2017” by Mr. Ronnie Chan and Mr. Johnny Mok
National Committee on U.S.-China Relations
– Mr. Stephen Orlins, President
– Ms. Jan Berris, Vice President
– Mr. David Youtz, Senior Consultant
The Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations
– Ambassador Liu Jieyi, Permanent Representative
– Mr. Yao Shaojun, Counsellor
– Mr. Liang Heng
Speaking luncheon hosted by Asia Society: “Hong Kong’s Future: Autonomy and the Road to 2017” by Mr. Ronnie Chan and Mr. Johnny Mok