On February 21, members of the AmCham China Board of Governors met with a delegation of three former US Senators who were visiting China to meet with various Chinese government agencies. The delegation included:
- Mark Kirk (Republican-Illinois), who served in the Senate from 2010-2017 and in the House of Representatives from 2001-2010. As a Representative, he was a member of the House Appropriations Committee and the bipartisan House US-China Working Group.
- Mark Pryor (Democrat-Arkansas), who served in the Senate from 2003-2015 and focused on issues including communications, Internet, privacy, cybersecurity, aviation, automotive, consumer protection, and agriculture. He also supported legislation to increase bilateral trade between the US and China during this time.
- Dennis DeConcini (Democrat-Arizona), who served in the Senate from 1977-1995 and was active in the Senate’s Appropriations and Judiciary Committees, and chaired the Subcommittees on Antitrust, Monopolies and Business Rights, the Constitution and the Courts.
The former Senators were very open in sharing their perspectives on the current US political environment and how they foresee US-China bilateral relations progressing under the new administration. They also provided advice to our board as we begin preparations for our annual DC Outreach, which will be held this year from May 1-5.
Meeting participants from AmCham China included board Chairman William Zarit, Vice Chair Pat Powers, and Governors Lester Ross and Eric Schmidt.