President Li Xiaolin had a meeting with Richard M. Daley, former mayor of Chicago, in Beijing on November 8.

President Li commended Mayor Daley for his long-time efforts to strengthen China-US friendship and the bilateral relationship between the two countries. She said, although China-US relations are faced with obstacles, people-to-people and sub-national exchanges should be strengthened instead of being weakened under such circumstances. Next year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. She sincerely hoped that the bilateral relations will be able to move ahead healthily in win-win cooperation.

Mayor Daley said that the US and China could become friends with each other, and American people generally speaking are friendly towards China. Local governments in the US, especially governors and mayors are important forces in the continuous development of US-China relations. He wished to continue supporting US-China exchanges and cooperation at all levels, delivering new contributions to the positive development of US-China relations.