Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang, when attending the 25th China-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade in Chicago, the United States, jointly attended the Sino-U.S. Tourism Cooperation Forum with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and Trade Representative Michael Froman on December 17. Wang delivered a speech titled Build a Bridge for Friendship and Cooperation, stressing that the mutually beneficial arrangements on business, tourism and overseas students’ visa made by China and the United States when Chinese President Xi Jinping had a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in Beijing last month are significant and great news for Sino-U.S. tourism cooperation. The tourism cooperation between the two countries will usher in an unprecedented cooperative opportunity.
Wang said that strengthening tourism cooperation is not only the consensus of the Chinese and U.S. governments, but also the wish of the two peoples. Both peoples have a nice expectation of going around more, contacting more and building a bridge of friendship and cooperation and tourism is the best platform.
Wang pointed out that tourism cooperation is the most active and potential field in trade and economic cooperation and cultural and educational exchanges between China and the United States. In the last 10 years, Sino-U.S. exchange tourists have added up to more than 28 million, with an annual increase of 10% and an average of 250 flights between the two countries every week. The sustainable development of tourism cooperation not only brings economic benefits for both sides, but also advances understanding and friendship between the peoples, which lay a solid public opinion foundation for the development of Sino-U.S. relations.
Wang stressed that the Chinese tourism industry is seeing a golden time. China and the United States should ride the tide, fully improve the level of tourism cooperation, realize the breakthrough of 5 million exchange tourists as soon as possible and move torward the new goal of 10 million people. It is hoped that the governments and enterprises of the two countries can regard this forum as a new start, create a new comprehensive and high-level pattern of tourism cooperation and enrich the connotation of the new pattern of relationship between the great powers. Wang put forward five suggestions for this purpose:
Firstly, a more convenient tourism environment should be created. Entry and exit procedures should be further simplified, direct flight cities and flights should be continuously increased and joint development of the tourism market and products by Chinese and U.S. enterprises should be supported.
Secondly, two-way investment cooperation in the tourism industry should be expanded. China encourages U.S. tourism equipment producers to invest in China and Chinese enterprises to invest and list in the United States. It is hoped that the U.S could provide necessary convenience for this.
Thirdly, development experience in the tourism industry should be shared. Both sides should learn from each other on tourism planning, project creativity, cultural relics and ecological environmental protection, cultural and rural tourism to jointly improve the development level of the tourism industry of both countries.
Fourthly, the tourism cooperative mechanism should be improved. Efforts should be made to continue to do a good job in holding the Dialogue on Cooperation and Development between Sino-U.S. Provincial Tourism Secretaries, popularize it to the second-tier and third-tier cities and key tourist sites and discuss setting up daily work contact mechanisms of tourism.
Fifthly, tourism exchanges between Chinese and U.S. teenagers should be expanded. Such tourism exchange activities as summer camps and study tours between the two countries should be supported to enable teenagers to know more about histories and culture of the two countries and enhance the sense of identity between each other.
Pritzker and Froman said that Sino-U.S. tourism cooperation which has attained long-term development is a good example for trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. The two heads of state reached important consensus on promoting tourism cooperation of both sides when having a meeting in Beijing. The United States will lengthen the period of validity of short-period tourism visas of Chinese tourists from one year to 10 years. The United States expects more Chinese tourists to take a trip in the United States, bring more tourism income and create more employment opportunities. The United States is willing to work with China to tap the cooperative potential of tourism cooperation, promote the development of relevant industries of tourism, enhance mutual understanding of both peoples and promote the development of Sino-U.S. relationship.
More than 200 people from tourism departments and enterprises of the two countries attended the forum.