Conferences & Meetings \>\> In China

Beijing International Technology Transfer Congress

Focusing on technology transfer and international technology cooperation, the theme for this year's event is "beyond the borders: drive innovation to win". The congress will feature 40 distinguished speakers from more than 30 countries and about 300 attendees, including Chinese professionals and overseas technology managers.

Date: April 24-27

Venue: Beijing International Hotel Convention Centre

Website: www.britishchamber.cn

Canton Fair 2013 (Spring)-The 113th China Import and Export Fair, Guangzhou

Ranking among the top in the world in terms of scale, Canton Fair is an international trade event with a long history. In 111 events the fair has been responsible for $963.1 billion in export trade volume with 6.14 million overseas buyers. The exhibition space covers 1.16 million square meters, housing 24,000 exhibitors.

Date: April 15-- May 05

Venue: China Import and Export Fair Pazhou Complex, Guangzhou

Website: www.cantonfair.org.cn

INTERPHEX China 2013, Wuhan

INTERPHEX China is China's leading exhibition for the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector, covering the complete spectrum of products, including raw materials, fine chemicals, intermediate chemicals, ingredients, processing machinery and packaging machinery. The event is an opportunity for international buyers to meet Asian sellers, especially Chinese ingredients manufacturers.

Date: April 25-27

Venue: International Convention & Exhibition Center

Website: www.chinaexhibition.com

Conferences & Meetings \>\> In the US

China's Investment Surge in Silicon Valley, California

Silicon Valley's dynamic high-tech market attracts a lot of Chinese firms and investors as they expand their businesses overseas. During the forum, experts and business leaders will explore the latest trends emerging from Chinese investment into Silicon Valley.

Date: May 23

Venue: San Jose Hilton

Website: asiasociety.org

China Goes Global: The Partial Power, Los Angeles

The USC US-China Institute presents a book talk with David Shambaugh titled China Goes Global to discuss how China has become more active and assertive throughout the world. Topics for discussion include: China's role as a global diplomatic actor; its behavior in the UN Security Council and other international organizations; its contributions (or lack thereof) to global governance; energy consumption and environmental impact; military development; outbound direct investment and multinational corporations; and attempts to accrue soft power.

Date: April 25

Venue: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089

Website: www.china.usc.edu

Culture \>\> In China

Christina Pluhar and L'Arpeggiata Concert, Beijing

Highly regarded as a multi-faceted instrumentalist in early music and Baroque repertory, Christina Pluhar is the founder and music director of the vocal/instrumental ensemble L'Arpeggiata. Since 2007, Pluhar has led L'Arpeggiata in joint concerts with ensembles including the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra.

Date: April 13

Venue: Forbidden City Concert Hall

Website: www.theatrebeijing.com

Tying Chinese Knots - Pan Chang, Beijing

Chinese knotting is a decorative handicraft art that began as a form of Chinese folk art in the Tang and Song dynasties (AD 618-1279). The art is also referred to as Chinese traditional decorative knots.Learn to make the auspicious knots from China Culture Center folk artist Ms Wang.

Date: April 26

Venue: China Culture Center, Chaoyang District

Website: www.chinaculturecenter.org

Culture \>\> In the US

Shanghai Glamour: New Women 1910s-40s, New York

Established as a treaty port in the 19th century, Shanghai became a major modern metropolis by the 1920s and was internationally known as "the Paris of the East".

The city's identity was deeply related to its women and their fashion. The exhibition explores how Shanghai women and their fashionable dresses convey the attraction and mystery of this legendary city in during its modernizing process during the early 20th century.

Date: April 26 --September 29

Venue: The Museum of Chinese in America, 215 Centre Street, New York

Website: www.mocanyc.org

Front Row: Chinese American Designers, New York

Guest-curated by designer Mary Ping, the show will demonstrate the unique visions of 16 Chinese-American designers, showing the origins of their careers and development of signature styles, as well as their relationship to the concepts of New York and Asia.

Date: April 26 -- Sept 29

Venue: The Museum of Chinese in America

Website: www.feedage.com

Diplomatic pouch

US Secretary of State John Kerry met last week with the new Chinese ambassador to the US, Cui Tiankai and received a copy of his credentials at the State Department. Cui said that the China-US relationship is now at a new historical start and faced with important opportunities for further development, Xinhua News Agency reported. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns later met with Cui and they exchanged views on China-US relations as well as international and regional issues. China's ambassador arrived in Washington on April 2. Kerry will pay a visit to China on April 13 and 14 as the guest of Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

California Governor Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown's China visit continues in Shanghai on April 12, with an official unveiling ceremony and opening of the California-China Office of Trade and Investment. The office will serve as the Golden State's first trade presence in China since 2003. Brown was hosted at a US embassy reception and trade fair in Beijing earlier in the week.

US Ambassador Gary Locke recently visited cities in central China less traveled by foreign tourists to promote tourism "off the beaten path" in America. Locke went to Changsha late last month to attend The Best of America' a series of promotions and exchanges. The event focused on themes such as green energy, medical technology, investment and tourism. New programs catering to Chinese tourists, such as American school tours, American in-depth tours, driving tours, and golf tours. Following Changsha, the program events moved on to Wuhan and Chongqing.

Locke's focus on the promotion of American tourism is part of an effort started in 2010 when President Obama signed into law, the Travel Promotion Act. As then-secretary of commerce, Locke oversaw the creation of both the federal promotion and a public-private non-profit corporation supporting it.

The US consul-general for Shanghai, Robert Griffiths, spoke at the opening ceremony of the Ocean Exploration Film and Education Program recently at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. Griffiths emphasized the importance of US-China cooperation in ocean conservation.

Send embassy and consulate news to michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 04/12/2013 page23)