NYSE marks 30th anniversary of US-China ties

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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-01-06 09:00

NEW YORK -- The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Monday kicked off its trading session with a special ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States.

Stephen A. Orlins (L4), president of the United States National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (NCUSCR), Zhang Yesui (R3), China's UN permanent representative, Henry Kissinger (L2), former U.S. secretary of state, attend a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and China at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, the United States, Jan. 5, 2009. NYSE kicked off its trading session on Monday with the special ceremony. Orlins rang the market's Opening Bell. [Xinhua]

In a symbolic move, Stephen A. Orlins, president of the US National Committee on US-China Relations (NCUSCR), rang the market's Opening Bell. He was accompanied by Dr. Henry Kissinger, a key trailblazer and eyewitness for the normalization of US- China relations.

The two countries formally established their diplomatic ties on January 1, 1979.

Zhang Yesui, China's UN permanent representative, said the bilateral relations of China and United States is of great importance, not only to the two peoples, but also to the world peace and security, and the global economic development.

Dr. Kissinger, who visited China in 1971, said he is optimistic about the future of the bilateral relations of China and United States. "It is now a pillar of the international order. And peace and prosperity of the world depend closely on the Sino-US relations," he said.

Talking on areas of further co-operation between the two countries, Dr. Kissinger said first of all China and United States should develop a common solution on how to overcome the current international financial and economic crisis, and develop a program of collaboration to tackle the issue.

And "on the key problems that exist in the world -- proliferation, energy, climate change, environment -- China and United States can be a key to a solution of these problems," he said, "So the strategic dialogues between China and United States should not only continue, but be reinforced and strengthened."

NCUSCR President Orlins called the NYSE celebrating ceremony "a real testimony, not only to the historical events, but also to how far we have come."

"When we established diplomatic relations exactly 30 years ago on January 1st, we could not have imagined that we would have Chinese companies listed on the NYSE, whose market capital is in excess of 800 billion US dollars," Orlins said, "It is just remarkable."

Currently, there are 41 companies from Chinese mainland listed with NYSE, the premier US listing venue for non-US companies.

Duncan L. Niederauer, CEO of NYSE Euronext, told Xinhua that he has taken the relations with China as one of his most important initiatives during his years as chief executive. He also suggested the Chinese companies to "stay the course" and stick to the good business when dealing with the global financial crisis and economic downturn.

"There is always years like this in global markets where it is a very very tough ride. I think there are a lot of terrific companies in China. They either already listed or are in the queue to be listed, and we're gonna continue to support them through the ups and downs," Niederauer said, "I believe their fortunes will improve overtime and we just need a long-term outlook of it."

NYSE was the first foreign exchange to receive approval to open a representative office in China. After the opening of its Beijing office on December 11, 2007, NYSE has signed memorandums of understanding with China's Dalian Commodity Exchange and Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange in co-operations in the futures and options markets.

Among the guests to the Monday ceremony were Peng Keyu, Chinese consul-general in New York, and Jan Berris, vice president of the NCUSCR.