On the morning of March 30, the Committee of 100 hosted an invite-only breakfast at the U.S. Capitol building on “China’s One Belt One Road Initiative: What It Means for US-China Relations”, in partnership with the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress (USAFMC), US-Asia Institute, and the China United State Exchange Foundation.

Committee of 100 member Ben Wu gave a brief description of C-100’s missions and introduced The Honorable Connie Morella (R-MD,1987-2003). Morella delivered welcome remarks, touching on the importance of the One Belt One Road project. She was followed by keynote speaker Liu Mingkang, a member of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Mr. Liu is also a member of the China National Energy Commission.  

During his presentation, Liu Mingkang introduced the basic blueprint of the One Belt One Road initiative, and its relevance to U.S.-China relations. He then covered topics such as sustainability as it pertains to the project, as well as the respective roles of technological advancement, e-commerce, and digital economy in the One Belt One Road plan.  

Mr. Liu’s presentation was followed by a brief question and answer session, during which former Congressman Don Bonker inquired about China’s efforts to promote a bilateral investment treaty, as well as China’s stance on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Mr. Liu replied that China does not explicitly oppose the TPP, but that it has taken more time for China to fully understand the rules and standards of TPP, which is why China initially expressed reservations. 

This briefing drew an audience of more than 40 participants, including C-100 member Timothy Tong and Ben Wu, as well as several former members of Congress, including The Honorable Connie Morella (R-MD,1987-2003); The Honorable Don Bonker (D-WA, 1975-1989);  as well as The Honorable Thomas Petri (R-WI, 1979-2015).