China Conference 2005 Summary

On November 14-17, 2005, the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, Texas A&M University, the George Bush School of Government and Public Service, and the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation hosted an international conference in Beijing focused on China- U.S. relations. Modeled after the first conference of the series held in 2003, the 2005 event provided an opportunity for policymakers, scholars, and business leaders from both China and the United States to exchange ideas and address issues of common interest.

Political, business, and academic leaders discussed issues of importance related to trade, diplomacy, and research. In addition, they reviewed and advanced political and economic relations between the two countries. The Beijing conference program consisted of plenary sessions exploring the conference themes, as well as research roundtable sessions led by researchers from the United States and China. The four-day conference was held in various locations in Beijing, including the Hotel Kunlun, Peking University, the China University of Geosciences, the National Academy of Educational Administration, and the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine. During the first two days participants reviewed and discussed ways to advance the diplomatic, security, economic, and scientific relations between the two countries. The last two days of the conference focused on building partnerships in science and technology and promoting research and educational exchange.

The Chinese delegation, comprised of many high-level Chinese officials, included Qian Qichen, Former Vice Premier of the State Council; Dai Bingguo, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs; Xu Kuangdi, Vice Chairman, Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference; Yang Jiechi, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs; General Xiong Guangkai, Deputy Chief of General Staff, People's Liberation Army; Liao Xiaoqi, Vice Minister of Commerce, People's Republic of China; Deng Nan, Vice Chairman, China Association for Science and Technology; and Su Ning, Vice Governor, Central Bank of the People's Republic of China.

Former President George Bush led a strong delegation from the United States, which included Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California; General Brent Scowcroft, Former United States National Security Advisor; Ambassador Rob Portman, United States Trade Representative; David A. Sampson, Deputy Secretary, United States Department of Commerce; Joseph J. Jen, Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics, United States Department of Agriculture; Arnold Kanter, Former United States Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs; George H. Atkinson, Science and Technology Advisor to the United States Secretary of State; and Ambassador Roman Popadiuk, Executive Director, George Bush Presidential Library Foundation.

At the opening conference session, former Vice Premier Qian and former President Bush delivered keynote addresses. They were joined by Vice Minister Dai, U.S. Ambassador to China Clark T. Randt, Jr., Vice Chairman Xu, Vice Minister Yang, General Brent Scowcroft, and Texas A&M University Vice President for Research Richard E. Ewing, who all made brief remarks. The plenary sessions that followed included topics such as China-U.S. Relations in the Global Context; Security Issues in Asia-Pacific Region; China-U.S. Economic and Trade Relations; Energy and Sustainable Development; Scientific and Technological Cooperation; Culture, Education, and People-to-People Diplomacy; Agriculture, Research, and Cooperation; and Shared Strategies on Prevention and Combating Infectious Diseases. About 400 scholars, business leaders, and interested citizens attended these sessions. On the second evening of the conference, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom John Major joined former President Bush in an informal discussion with the conference participants about the importance of the relationship with China.

Conference participants from around the world contributed to the discussions on collaborative research opportunities in various strategic areas. Specifically, the conference organized research roundtable sessions on the following topics:

• Altered Landscape and Environmental Response to Transformations (ALERT)-2: Coastal Monitoring, Preservation, and Restoration
• China Archive/China Survey
• China-U.S. Collaboration on Green Food and Agro-Produce Pathway (GFP) to Expedite Bi-lateral and International Agro-Trades
• Critical Roles and Administrative Competencies in Building Institutional Research Capacity
• Crop Improvement through Biotechnologies (CITB)
• Deepwater Offshore Technology
• East Asia and the United States in the Age of Globalization
• Emerging Infectious Diseases in China
• Environmental Concerns and Birth Defects Research in China
• Gender Policy and HIV in China
• Higher Education Intellectual Property Rights and Technology Transfer
• Information Technologies and Applications
• Learning and Growth of New Technology Ventures in China's High Technology Industries
• Quality of Life Issues in Contemporary Chinese Cities: The Impacts of Rapid Growth and Change in the Form of Neighborhoods and Housing
• The Role of Non-Conventional Hydrocarbons in Meeting the Growing Energy Demand
• Treatment of Eye Diseases with Chinese Herbs and Their Active Principles
• Wetland Conservation, Nature-Based Tourism, and Rural Economic Development

Some of these discussions began during the 2003 conference hosted at Texas A&M University. Scholars and researchers on both sides are actively following up on the ideas generated or advanced during these sessions. Texas A&M University is working on formal mechanisms for accelerating research and scholarly activities between China and the United States. More detailed summaries of the research roundtable sessions are available.

Texas A&M University offered an extraordinary opportunity to twenty of its students to attend the conference. These students, selected through a competitive application process, participated in a one credit-hour course focusing on Chinese culture and society, and then had the opportunity to apply this knowledge and learn more at the conference in Beijing. These students also met with more than forty students from China and around the United States who were participating in the Forum for American-Chinese Exchange at Stanford (FACES). The Texas A&M University and FACES students participated in an interactive discussion on issues relevant to college students and on China-U.S. relations during a taped session at China Central Television. The session has been televised to millions of people around China.

The conference was funded by generous sponsorships from ExxonMobil, Sprint Nextel Corporation (Platinum Sponsors); China Friendship Peace and Development Foundation Hotung Fund, China National Petroleum Corporation, FedEx Corporation, IBM Corporation, Microsoft China, China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, Tianjin Economic Development and Technology Area (Gold Sponsors), Caterpillar, and the Starr Foundation (Silver Sponsors).

Final Summaries

At the China-U.S. Relations Conference held in Beijing in November 2005, a series of research roundtable sessions provided open forums for scientists from China and the United States to discuss the newest scientific and technological advances important to both countries. The roundtable sessions addressed the critical role of scientific and research collaboration between the two countries, effective methods of scientific and technological cooperation, and major obstacles in scholarly exchanges. Various locations in Beijing served as hosts for the sessions, including Peking University, the China University of Geosciences, the National Academy of Educational Administration, the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the Hotel Kunlun.

Roundtable session topics were selected by a rigorous submittal and review process and were co-chaired by Chinese and American scholars. Conference participants from around the world contributed to the discussions on collaborative research opportunities in various strategic areas, as follows: