6th U.S.-China High-Level Political Party Leaders Dialogue As part of the ongoing U.S.-China High-Level Political Party Leaders Dialogue, organized by the EastWest Institute (EWI) in partnership with the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC), a delegation of U.S. Democratic and Republican Party leaders met with CPC senior officials in Beijing and Nanjing, China from November 18-21, 2013. The delegation, participating in the sixth U.S.-China High-Level Political Party Leaders Dialogue, was headed by Howard Berman, former U.S. Representative (DCA) and chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Anthony Parker, treasurer of the Republican National Committee. In a breakthrough for the U.S.-China High-Level Political Party Leaders Dialogue process, this delegation was the first to include sitting party officers as well as staff from both U.S. parties. The CPC delegation was led by Wang Jiarui, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the minister of the International Department of the CPC’s Central Committee (IDCPC). The dialogue was the highest level of engagement between the three parties ever convened. This visit occurred a week after the 18th Central Committee of the CPC concluded its Third Plenum, at which a series of planned reforms were announced. Dialogue sessions placed special emphasis on the outcomes of the plenum and their implications for economic and political reform in China. The discussions also addressed the current political landscape in the United States, the 16-day U.S. government shutdown in October and the debt and deficit debate in Washington. In addition, delegates explored ways to build mutual trust between the United States and China as part of the concept of a “new type of major-power relationship” and relations between the two countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The delegation also met with the vice president of the People’s Republic of China, Li Yuanchao, for two hours at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The U.S.-China High-Level Political Party Leaders Dialogue seeks to build understanding and trust between political elites from the United States and China through an exchange of views on governance and foreign policy issues. Five previous rounds of dialogue have been held since its launch in 2010. EWI expects to host the next round in the U.S. in 2014.
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