Foreign and Military Affairs

Chicago earnestly looks foward to Hu's visit

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-01-16 14:47

CHICAGO - "We have a great honor to have President Hu to come to Chicago and he will visit a city that has strong commitment to better relations with China and commitment of growing together with China," Richard Daley, mayor of Chicago, told Xinhua in a recent exclusive interview.

Chinese President Hu Jintao will pay a state visit to the United States during which he will meet with US President Barack Obama in Washington, and pay a visit to the Midwestern city of Chicago.

"We look forward to his visit with welcome arm and commitment of better relationships and (commitment of) working together to improve the quality of life of the people in China and Chicago," said Daley, 69, who has served as Chicago's mayor for six terms of 22 years.

Daley said he was fairly impressed by President Hu's leadership during his last meeting with Hu in China.

"We will show him how China has invested in our city, both in jobs and economic development," said the mayor. "The investment of China helps us tremendously in job creation and keeping jobs."

"It's a nonsense that China has taken everything," said Daley, "Now they are investing in our country, that's (what) we have to show."

Chicago has the best business climate and transportation system, which covers air, land and water, as well as the combination of agriculture and manufacturing industry, he said.

Besides, "Chicago's public school is among the few public schools in the US to teach mandarin, customs and historical traditions of China," he said, referring to the Confucius Institute in Chicago's Walter Payton College Prep high school, the only Confucius Institute based in a high school in the US.

"Exposure of younger generation to different cultures and languages is important for a global city," said the mayor, "We see many young children speak Spanish, speak English, now it's Chinese."

Daley said he believed that exchanges of students and artists were vitally important for both countries in the future, as "they can break barriers down and bring much more understanding of feeling".

Daley, who celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Sister Cities Relationship between Chicago and Shanghai at the Shanghai Expo in September 2010, said that Chicago would be the friendliest US city to China.

Talking of his impression of China, Daley said, "It's a country with a large population and many younger people, a country understanding that it is a part of solution of the problem of the world, it's a country that is on the move, it's not a country of past, it's a country of future."

"It's dynamic feeling that (Chinese) people are moving forward, I watch people walk, Chinese people know they are going some place, and they gonna get there," said Daley.