10th U.S.-China High-Level Political Party Leaders Dialogue
News | December 12, 2017

A delegation of U.S. Democratic and Republican Party leaders and global business leaders met with senior officials from the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Beijing, China on December 3-5, 2017. These discussions were part of the 10th U.S.-China High-Level Political Party Leaders Dialogue organized by the EastWest Institute (EWI) in partnership with the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (IDCPC).   

Launched in 2010, the U.S.-China High-Level Political Party Leaders Dialogue seeks to build understanding and trust between political elites from the United States and China through an exchange of views on governance and foreign policy issues. It is currently the only U.S.-China dialogue process involving sitting officers from the CPC and the U.S. Democratic and Republican National Committees.

This year, the CPC delegation was led by Song Tao, minister of IDCPC. Martin O’Malley, former governor of the state of Maryland, and Alphonso Jackson, former secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, led the U.S. Democratic and Republican delegations, respectively.

“Following the completion of China’s 19th Party Congress and President Trump’s inaugural visit to Asia, this year’s dialogue could not have been more well-timed,” said Ross Perot, Jr., EWI’s Chairman of the Board. “Participants engaged in frank discussions on salient topics including policy trends, trade, governance and enhancing opportunities for economic cooperation—issues that matter to the mutual welfare of both nations.”

The delegates also took the opportunity to discuss outcomes from the recent 19th National Congress of the CPC, which was held in October as well as observations from the “CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting,” which took place on December 1-3, 2017.

Following the CPC dialogue with the bipartisan U.S. delegation, the EastWest Institute also facilitated meetings with Sir Danny Alexander, vice president and corporate secretary at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), to discuss the Belt and Road Initiative and AIIB’s commitment to navigating governance issues. Delegates also met with Cong Peiwu, director-general of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to discuss Chinese foreign policy, with a focus on U.S.-China bilateral relations concerning North Korea.

Reflecting on outcomes from the dialogue, EWI CEO and President Cameron Munter stated: “All political parties want to reflect the needs of the people—we’re all working on the same issues, and I was encouraged that with this kind of dialogue, we can come up with practical solutions.”

The 10th U.S.-China High-Level Political Party Leaders Dialogue is made possible by the generous support of the following sponsors:

  • Sarah and Ross Perot, Jr.
  • Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund
  • The Oliver S. and Jennie R. Donaldson Charitable Trust
  • NuSkin
  • P&G
  • China-United States Exchange Foundation
  • Johnson & Johnson
  • Dolby Laboratories

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Photo credit: Aurelien Foucault