On February 29th, the China-US Tourism Symposium was successfully convened in Washington. Jing Quan, the Charge d’Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in the United States, and Gao Zheng, the Director-General of the Bureau of International Exchanges and Cooperation of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, attended the Symposium and delivered remarks. Minister Counselor Chen Chunmei, overseeing cultural and tourism affairs at the Chinese Embassy in the United States, along with representatives from various U.S. government departments— including the National Travel and Tourism Office of the Department of Commerce— as well as key figures from institutions such as the Brand USA, the U.S.-China Business Council, the Cruise Lines International Association, and the U.S. Travel Association, totaling over 40 participants, actively participated in the Symposium. The event was moderated by Professor Yu Liang from the School of Business at George Washington University.

Jing Quan pointed out that tourism exchanges have always been an important component of China-US relations, playing a crucial role in enhancing mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples. Both sides should actively implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries in the San Francisco summit meeting and further expand and deepen China-US cultural and people-to-people exchanges. China has recently taken effective steps to simplify visa application for foreigners traveling to China and promote the facilitation of foreign payments in China. With the joint efforts of both China and the U.S., the number of direct flights will increase to 100 per week by the end of March. It is hoped that this symposium will thoroughly discuss the current difficulties and challenges affecting mutual visits between Chinese and U.S. tourists and promote the swift recovery of bilateral tourism to pre-pandemic levels.

Gao Zheng introduced China’s views on promoting tourism cooperation between the two countries, as well as the preparations for the 14th China-U.S. Tourism Leadership Summit, and responded to questions raised by representatives of U.S. tourism enterprises.

Participants engaged in in-depth exchanges, brainstormed ideas, and jointly explored the prospects for future tourism cooperation, actively working towards an early realization of the vision set forth by the leaders of China and the U.S. in San Francisco.