Huang Wenhui, mayor of Xiamen in Southeast China's Fujian province, met with Nicholas Burns, US Ambassador to China, and his delegation on March 20.
Huang extended a warm welcome to the delegation, stating that Xiamen is an important coastal city in Southeast China, known for its port, scenic beauty, and tourism. It is also one of the first four special economic zones in China to implement the opening-up policy, and is renowned as a "garden on the sea".
For a long time, Xiamen has maintained close and friendly exchanges with the United States at the local level, and relations have continued to improve.
This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the US. Xiamen will fully leverage its high level of openness and strengthen friendly exchanges with localities in the US in order to contribute to promoting the stable, healthy, and sustainable development of Sino-US relations, added Huang.
Burns said that his visit to Xiamen has left him with a very positive impression and gave him a better understanding of the history of friendly exchanges between the US and China.
He stated that he would take the visit as an opportunity to promote practical cooperation between US localities and Xiamen in areas such as investment, trade, cultural, and educational exchanges, which will facilitate mutual understanding and bring greater benefits to the people of both regions.
China announced and implemented on May 15 a policy allowing visa-free entry of foreign tourist groups aboard cruise ships via all cruise ship ports along the country's coastline.
China and Georgia are set to waive visa requirements for travelers starting May 28.
