BEIJING, CHINA — Further strengthening the bond between California and China, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. met with China’s Premier Li Keqiang before departing for Shanghai on Thursday.
In the meeting, Governor Brown stressed the importance of collaboration between California and China on renewable energy, climate change, research, higher education and technology.
Thursday’s meeting followed remarks at Tsinghua University and a number of events throughout Beijing on Wednesday, including meetings with China’s Minister of Commerce, Minister of Environmental Protection, Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, a forum with the American Chamber of Commerce – Beijing and a reception at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing with the U.S. Ambassador to China.
On Friday in Shanghai, Governor Brown will open the California-China Trade and Investment Office, the state’s first foreign trade office in a decade.
In addition to stops in Beijing and Shanghai, the trade and investment mission will include events in Nanjing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen through Tuesday, April 16th.
Joining the Governor on the trade and investment mission is a delegation organized by the Bay Area Council that includes approximately 90 business, economic development, investment and policy leaders from throughout California. Senior administration officials are also accompanying the delegation.
The Governor’s trade and investment mission follows more than a year of significant diplomatic and business exchanges between the State of California and China. In February 2012, Governor Brown welcomed His Excellency Xi Jinping, then-Vice President, and now President of China, to California. During the visit, Governor Brown announced his intention to visit China, open a trade and investment office and form a China-California Joint Task Force to drive more collaboration, investment and trade between California and China. Later in 2012, the Brown administration convened the inaugural Joint Economic Committee between California and China’s Jiangsu Province, hosted a Chinese delegation led by the Vice Minister of China’s Ministry of Commerce and met with a Chinese delegation led by Deputy Governor Xia Geng of China’s Shandong Province.