The first Government Appreciation Dinner hosted more than 400 guests at the Kerry Center Hotel on Dec. 5, 2000. Guests of honor included US Ambassador Joseph Prueher, with Shi Guangsheng, Minister for Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation serving as the keynote speaker. The Appreciation Dinner has since become one of the Chamber’s most influential events, featuring government officials, including Vice Premier Wu Yi (2007), Vice Premier Wang Yang (2015), and various US Ambassadors to China as keynote speakers.