SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Officials in the western U.S. state of California on Saturday expressed optimism about the future of China-U.S. relations although the two countries currently faced an escalated trade spat.
Californian Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis said that China and the United States are the first and second largest economies in the world after 40 years of growth.
"I am an optimist. I think the future remains bright thanks to the enduring strength of the relationships we have all built together," Kounalakis said at a meeting on China-U.S. relations held in Burlingame city in the Bay Area.
"We need to do it by building bridges, not walls," she said.
Mayor Libby Schaaf of Oakland city in Northern California last month just returned from what she called "an incredible trip" to China, including a visit to Dalian City in northeast China, with which Oakland has maintained a sister-city-hood for 37 years.
Schaaf saw much hope and many opportunities in the U.S.-China relations in education, economic development, trade, innovation and climate change.
The Oakland mayor noted the tariff spat with China put the jobs of workers at the Tesla factory and other workers in Oakland at stake.
"If we cannot get component parts that ship through the Port of Oakland to support good American jobs, the longshoremen that load the almonds and the wine that are made right here in California onto the ships bound for markets in Asia and in China will suffer," she said.
Schaaf encouraged more American mayors to visit China for "fascinating" discussions with their Chinese counterparts on something people-related-topics.
"Relationships are more natural between people than countries," she said.
At the meeting, Chinese Consul General in San Francisco Wang Donghua said the two countries have made great advances in promoting the bilateral relations and delivering enormous benefits to the Chinese and Americans.
Wang said enormous changes have taken place in both countries and around the world over the last 40 years, and both countries now have a lot more common interests than four decades ago.
While China and the United States are having a challenging time as a result of the escalation in their trade disputes, he said, such tensions are hurting seriously the interests of both peoples.
He underlined the need to end the tariffs or trade wall, and build more mutual understanding and trust between the two countries.
The meeting, entitled "The U.S.-China Relationship Summit", was hosted by Florence Fang Family Foundation, a non-profit organization to enhance mutual understanding and cooperation between Americans and Chinese. The attendees reviewed the successes of the two countries' cooperation over the past 40 years, and discussed the present and future of the China-U.S. ties over the next 40 years.
