(New York City, NY–May 12, 2011)— Today, the Committee of 100, a leadership organization of Chinese Americans, presented its “Leadership Award for Advancing U.S.-China Relations” to Henry M. Paulson Jr, the 74^th Treasury Secretary of the United States. The Award recognizes the tremendous contributions Secretary Paulson, who has visited China more than 70 times, has made to furthering strong ties between the U.S. and China, including his pioneer leadership of U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED). The Award was presented to Paulson at the gala of the Committee of 100’s 20^th Annual Conference, an event that was attended by more than 600 guests at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Temple of Dendur in New York City. Paulson served under President George W. Bush as the 74th Secretary of the Treasury from July 2006 until January 2009. As Treasury Secretary, Paulson was the President’s leading policy advisor on a broad range of domestic and international economic issues. Before his service at the Treasury Department, Paulson had a thirty-two year career at Goldman Sachs including serving as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since the firm’s initial public offering in 1999. He is also involved in a range of conservation and environmental initiatives having served as Chairman of The Peregrine Fund, Inc., Chairman of the Board of Directors for The Nature Conservancy and was Co-Chairman of its Asia/Pacific Council. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Paulson was a member of the White House Domestic Council, serving as Staff Assistant to the President from 1972 to 1973, and as Staff Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon from 1970 to 1972. In his acceptance remarks, Secretary Paulson said: “The U.S.-China relationship is critically important to the world because any important global issue-whether it is an economic, national security or environmental will be easier to solve whenever the biggest developed nation and the biggest developing nation agree.  I thank the Committee of 100, both for this Award and for the work the Committee does to strengthen U.S.-China relations.  I look forward to working with the Committee to continue to build U.S.-China ties.” Lulu C. Wang, Conference Co-Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Tupelo Capital Management LLC, commented: “We can think of very few individuals who would deserve the Committee of 100’s ‘Leadership Award for Advancing U.S.-China Relations’ more than Secretary Hank Paulson. Even as these relations have grown more complex, sometimes troubled, over the past three decades, Secretary Paulson has always sought to find common ground, to seek opportunities for collaboration, rather than for conflict. He has been uniquely successful because he understood the common economic good that would issue from constructive U.S.-China ties, not only for the two countries, but also for the world.  Even more so, he was successful because his efforts were guided by a profound respect and optimism for the peoples of the U.S. and of China.” John S. Chen, Chairman of the Committee of 100, said: “C-100 is delighted to present the Award to Secretary Paulson. He has consistently championed the vision of engaging China as a valued partner and encouraged Chinese integration into the international system. He continues to promote mutual understanding of challenges faced by both the U.S. and China, a mission C-100 has been pursuing for last 20 years.” Liu He, Vice Chairman Office of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs and CPC Secretary and Vice President, Development Research Center of the State Council also received “Leadership Award for Advancing US-China Relations”. Other honorees were James E. Rogers, Chairman, President, and CEO of Duke Energy for “Business Excellence”; Laura M. Cha, Deputy Chairman of HSBC Asia Pacific for “Philanthropy”; and Cai Guo-Qiang, contemporary artist, for “Chinese in America Achievement”.                                                    COMMON GROUND, theme for the Committee’s 20^th Annual Conference provided a forum for government and business leaders to discuss key developments in U.S.-China relations and Chinese American progress. The 20^th Annual Conference Co-Chairs are Clarence Kwan, Senior Partner, Chinese Services Group, Deloitte LLP; James M. Li, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs; and Lulu C. Wang, Chief Executive Officer, Tupelo Capital Management LLC. The Committee of 100 is a leadership organization of prominent Chinese Americans in business, government, academia, and the arts. For over 20 years, the Committee has served as a substantive bridge in the U.S.- China dialogue by fostering regular exchanges with the leadership of Beijing, Taipei, and Washington. Members of the Committee of 100 are leading U.S. citizens of Chinese descent who leverage their collective influence, resources and experiences to address important topics shaping U.S.-China relations as well as issues affecting the Chinese American community. www.committee100.org   ###   Contact: Ms. An Ping 917-670-5871 ping_an@committee100.org