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Chief Secretary begins US tour in Seattle
The Chief Secretary, Mrs Anson Chan, spent the first day of her three-week visit to the United States meeting prominent members of the Seattle/Tacoma community.
Mrs Chan began her programme in Seattle yesterday (Tuesday) with an early meeting with President and Chief Executive Officer of Boeing Company, Mr Phil Condit.
During the meeting, they discussed the importance of the unconditional renewal of China's Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status.
Mrs Chan expressed her appreciation for Boeing's strong support for the normalisation and improvement of US-China trade relations, especially in the continued unconditional renewal of China's MFN status.
Mrs Chan then attended a breakfast meeting with the Seattle civic and business community where she gave a presentation highlighting the three institutions underpinning Hong Kong's success and way of life.
These included an economy that has consistently seen real GDP growth of 6.5 per cent per year for the last 10 years, a clean and efficient civil service and a independent judiciary.
Mrs Chan also emphasised the importance of maintaining strong US-Hong Kong relations as Hong Kong is a vital trading and business partner of the US and a strong US partner in international law enforcement.
Following the breakfast meeting, Mrs Chan met with Mr Steve Bolmer, Microsoft's Executive Vice President. The two discussed the importance of enforcing international intellectual property rights.
Mrs Chan's visit to Seattle was concluded with a tour of Boeing Company. The tour included viewing a Boeing 777 being constructed for Cathay Pacific Airways and a walk through the Boeing assembly plant.
The Chief Secretary's visit to seven cities in the US serves to foster closer economic and cultural ties between the US and Hong Kong. Mrs Chan departed Seattle yesterday for San Francisco where she will meet with members of the business community and the academic field.