HONG KONG -- Quietly and without fanfare, an organization has been formed that may help smooth the course of the development of relations between the United States and China. This is the U.S.-China Working Group in the House of Representatives, set up in mid-2005 and now includes 35 members of congress.
A delegation of this bipartisan body just made its first visit to China, ending in Hong Kong. Last Monday, the group's two co-chairs, Republican Mark Kirk and Democrat Rick Larsen, as well as Congressman Tom Feeney of Florida, explained the group's goals and its experience in China at a lunch presentation jointly organized by the Asia Society and the American Chamber of Commerce.
According to Kirk, the working group's goal is to make the Washington-Beijing relationship the primary bilateral relationship for the U.S. in the 21st century. He said the group takes no positions on key issues and its members range from pro-China to anti-China congressmen or, as Kirk said, "from panda huggers to dragon slayers."