{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://larsen.house.gov/press-release/us-china-working-group-emphasize-importance-us-china-bilateral-relationship", "U.S.-China Working Group Emphasize Importance of U.S.-China Bilateral Relationship", "2014-11-20", "2014", "2014-11", "Democrat", "House", "WA", "Rick Larsen", "L000560", "larsen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "APEC Summit Advanced Agreements Between U.S. and China to Reduce Trade and Travel Barriers\nWorking Group Founded in 2005 by Kirk and Rep. Larsen\nWASHINGTON\u00a0\u2013\u00a0U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Representatives Rick Larsen (D-Wash.-02) and Charles Boustany (R-La.-03), hosted a meeting of the U.S.-China Working Group with U.S. government and private sector\u00a0representatives\u00a0to discuss\u00a0the outcomes of President Obama's visit to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC) in Beijing last week. During the visit,\u00a0President Obama met with China's President Xi Jinping\u00a0and\u00a0concluded a series of bilateral agreements regarding tourism, trade, energy, and national security. \u00a0\n\u201cThe relationship between the United States and China is the\u00a0most\u00a0important bilateral relationship of the 21st century,\u201d Senator Kirk said. \u201cThe 10-year visa will give cities like Chicago a big boost from additional Chinese business and tourism travelers,\u00a0which nationally will generate $85 billion to the economy by 2021. The U.S.-China Working Group will continue to work to educate members of Congress on the immense benefits of this relationship.\u201d\n\u201cThis year\u2019s APEC Summit was productive for U.S. engagement in the region,\u201d Senator Hirono said. \u201cStrengthening America\u2019s ties with China, and in particular extending visitor and business travel visas to 10 years, will bring new diplomatic and economic opportunities for our country.\u00a0 For the State of Hawaii, we welcome this opportunity to further build relationships internationally.\u201d\n\u201cPromoting trade with China is an important avenue to expand the markets into which American companies can compete. Currently, Louisiana is the seventh-most export-heavy state, but we can do even better. By promoting a strong U.S.-Chinese trade relationship, everyone stands to benefit,\u201d Rep. Boustany said.\n\u201cAs the two largest economies in the world, the U.S. and China cannot afford not to engage. The successes that came out of the recent APEC summit about trade, travel visas and the environment mark important progress in the relationship between our two countries. These agreements also are good news for Washington state, because increasing our ability to export local goods grows our local economy and creates jobs,\u201d Rep. Larsen said.\nOn October 31st, Senator Kirk and Reps. Boustany and Larsen\u00a0wrote a letter to President Obama, asking him to use his leadership to advance agreements with China that would\u00a0increase tourism and travel to the United States, significantly reduce foreign investment barriers for U.S. companies in China, and make progress on the negotiation of a meaningful Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), which would remove restrictions for U.S. investment\u00a0in China and provide enhanced legal protections for U.S. companies. The U.S. and China subsequently concluded\u00a0agreements\u00a0to extend validity of short-term business and tourism visas from one year to 10 years; an information technology agreement that commits China to significant tariff reductions in that sector; and a commitment to accelerate BIT talks.\nThen-Congressman Kirk founded the U.S.-China Working Group with Rep. Larsen in 2005, and then worked with then-Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) to launch the group in the Senate in 2011. The group hosts regular member and staff briefings with academic, business and political leaders to discuss the latest in U.S.-China relations and various security and trade issues.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://larsen.house.gov/press-release/us-china-working-group-emphasize-importance-us-china-bilateral-relationship"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8090000376105309, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}