Premier Zhu To Attend Dinner Hosted By Committee Of 100

March 15, 1999
By George Koo

On his first trip to the United States since becoming the Premier of China, Mr. Zhu Rongji has accepted an invitation to attend a dinner organized in his honor on April 9 to be held in Washington, D. C. The Committee of 100 joins America-China Society and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations as one of the hosting organizations. (Other organizations such as the Asia Society are likely to join also.)

The dinner reception will be held at the Willard Inter-Continental and the organizers expected a crowd of around 350 guests. Representing the Committee at this event were Henry Tang, Chairman, and Prof. John Young coordinated the arrangements. Up to twenty other members were expected to attend.

Premier Zhu's visit to the United States took place exactly three weeks before the Committee's annual conference. See other stories in this issue for a full description of the annual conference.

Recent espionage charges leveled against China have effectively soured the atmosphere before the Premier even undertakes this journey, a tour that should have been one of good will. It will be interesting to see if Premier Zhu's straight talking style wins any converts among those that are ambivalent about the bilateral relations. Of course, he cannot be expected to score any points with those political leaders that regard the bilateral relations not as a foreign policy matter but as an excuse for domestic squabble.