U.S. Consulate General in Chengdu held a ceremony to celebrate its 25th anniversary in Jinjiang Hotel in Chengdu on November 5th. Jon M. Huntsman, U.S Ambassador to China and Wei Hong, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee, Vice Governor of Sichuan Province attended and addressed the celebration. Mark Lambert, acting Consul General of U.S. Consulate General in Chengdu presided over the ceremony.
Wei Hong expressed his warmest congratulations to the 25th anniversary of U.S Consulate General in Chengdu on behalf of the Provincial Government. He said that since the opening of the Consulate General, the Consulate has played a vital role in promoting interactions and communications between the two peoples as well as in promoting economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation between the United States and Sichuan. More and more countries have come to establish their consulates and more and more enterprises choose to settle in Sichuan Province because Sichuan adheres to opening-up principle. He hopes that the U.S Consulate General in Sichuan will support Sichuan Province as always and further enhance the exchanges and cooperation between the United States and Sichuan Province.
Ambassador Jon M. Huntsman said in his speech that he is grateful for the assistance and support the Sichuan Provincial Government and Chengdu Municipal Government have given to the Consulate General in Chengdu. He said that the most important contribution the Consulate General has made in the past 25 years has been the promotion of the interactions between the two peoples and enhancement of their mutual understanding and trust, thus have helped form the friendly ties between the Chinese people from southwest China and American people from various states.
Founded in 1985, the very first office of the U.S Consulate General in Chengdu was set up in the first floor of Jinjiang Hotel. In its 25 years of development, the Consulate General has expanded from its initial 6 American officials and 20 Chinese employees into 130 Chinese and American staff. Divisions such as Political Division, Economic Division, Visa Division, News and Culture Division, Agricultural Trade Division, Commerce Division etc have been set up one after another and the Consulate General has established friendly relations with southwestern regions in China.
Over the years, Sino-American business relationship, educational and cultural exchanges and agricultural cooperation have been greatly promoted.
