Former Shanghai Mayor Xu Kuangdi Hosted by New York Committee Members

October 2009 | By Jane Leung Larson

Former Mayor of Shanghai and current President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Xu Kuangdi, met with New York members at the Harvard Club on October 6. Xu’s visit to the United States was sponsored by the China-United States Exchange Foundation of C.H. Tung, former Chief Executive of Hong Kong.

[L to R] Kai-Fu Lee, Howard Li, Carolyn Chin, Lulu Wang, Consul General Peng Keyu, David Chang, Mayor Xu Kuangdi, Mrs. Xu Luoping, David Chu, Clarie Lo, CEO, China-United States Exchange Foundation, Savio Tung, and Angelica Tang (click to enlarge).

For this trip, he also spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Yale University. He also met with Dr. Henry Kissinger and Congressman Adam Schiff.

Xu gave a broad-ranging talk in English followed by a question and answer period. He focused on three topics:

•    The worldwide economic and financial crisis hurt Chinese exports, especially in the first quarter of this year in the Pearl River Delta where many factories went bankrupt because of declining overseas orders. However, the government’s 4 trillion RMB stimulus package for development of rural infrastructure, health and education, and transportation has strengthened the domestic market and increased consumption, even on the part of peasants. China will soon surpass the U.S. in miles of highways, and its fast-growing high-speed rail network is connecting the major urban areas.
•    Xu watched the National Day parade at Tiananmen Square, noting that the weapons and airplanes on display were all made in China.  This demonstrates that China is independent and self-reliant.
•    Environmental protection and clean energy are a priority of the Chinese government, now that China’s carbon emissions are now even higher than those of the U.S. Xu said the country will be expanding all types of non-carbon emitting energy production, including nuclear and wind, and welcomed investment from the U.S. for these projects. U.S.-China collaboration in this field will result in a winning situation for all.

Savio Tung hosted the dinner meeting, which was attended by David Chang, Anla Cheng, Carolyn Chin, David Chu, Kai-Fu Lee, Howard Li, Savio Tung, Lulu Wang, C-100 Executive Director Angie Tang, Public Relations Director An Ping, Xu Luoping (Mayor Xu’s wife), Consul General Ambassador Peng Kengyu, Vice Consul Li Qingzhan, Claire Lo, CEO of the China-U.S. Exchange Foundation, and Xu Bingkai (Mayor Xu’s assistant).