Conferences & Meetings \>\> In China

2013 China International Sporting Goods Show, Beijing

With free seminars and a daily fashion show, this event is aimed at boosting the popularity of Chinese sports brands globally.

Date: May 31- June 3

Venue: New China International Exhibition Center

Website: sportshow.com.cn

Top Wine China, Beijing

With China fast becoming one of the world's most important wine markets, offering both growth potential and generous margins, and currently standing at seventh globally in terms of consumption, this event offers a platform for wine makers intent on penetrating the market and finding distributors.

Date: June 4-6

Venue: China National Convention Center

Website: www.topwinechina.com

Luxury China, Beijing

With exhibitors expected from 12 countries, including the US, France, the UK, Germany, Italy, Australia and Switzerland, this is a premier trade event for the luxury industries.

Venue: China International Exhibition Center

Date: June 6-8

Website: www.luxurychina.com.cn

Conferences & Meetings \>\> In the US

Challenges Facing Pacific Asia Convergence, Los Angeles

The Pacific-Asia region is converging economically rapidly, enhanced by better connectivity. As incomes and standards of living rise, and with changing global power balances, national pride is bringing back old memories of animosity and territorial disputes.

This event focuses on the questions: will the convergence of Pacific-Asia be disrupted?; and will the US be part of the problem or part of the solution.

Date: June 6

Venue: USC Marshall School of Business, Popovich Hall, Room 300, 630 Childs Way

Website: asiasociety.org

Water: Asia's New Battleground, Los Angeles

The battles of yesterday were fought over land. Those of today are over energy. And the battles of tomorrow may be over water. This event focuses on water resources in Asia, where the risk of conflict may be at its greatest.Drought, urbanization, pollution and inadequate infrastructure have made Asia the world's most water-scarce continent on a per-capita basis. Many of its water sources cross national boundaries, creating the potential for international conflict as supplies dwindle.

Date: June 4

Venue: Tyler Environmental Prize Pavilion, The Von KleinSmid Center, University of Southern California, 3518 Trousdale Parkway

Website: asiasociety.org

Paving the Path to Success, 12th Annual Symposium on Biopharmaceuticals, San Diego

This year's San Diego Bio-Pharma Conference brings together top-notch speakers to discuss recent life science breakthroughs and the latest industry trends on a global scale. The event will also include an exciting drug discovery panel representing local companies with drugs that have recently gained FDA approval.

Date: June 8

Venue: Hilton, San Diego

Website: sabpa.org

Culture \>\> In China

The 20th Anniversary Charity Gala of Commonwealth Society of Beijing, Beijing

With the theme "Caring, sharing, building friendship", all money raised from the gala will be donated to non-profit originations helping the less fortunate.

Date: June 15

Venue: China World Hotel

Website: www.csbchina.org

Beijing on the Move, Beijing

This visual portrait describes how every gate in Beijing's old city wall had its own purpose: a gate for water, coal, alcohol, for soldiers marching to war, and one for excrement. It is the story of how the walls and gates were torn down to open up the city for the ever increasing traffic, and how twisting donkey drawn carts and long lazy camel caravans and wheelbarrows were overtaken by rickshaws and tramways, before they in turn were surpassed by cars, subway lines and bullet trains.

Date: May 26

Venue: The Hutong

Website: www.bjpostcards.com

Culture \>\> In the US

Flowers, Fragrance, and Porcelain Wares in China's Song Dynasty, Los Angeles

A talk with Professor Yang Zhishui, Institute of Literature, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. A scholar of material culture from historical China and a prolific writer on the intersection of archaeology, material culture, visual history and literature. Her recent books include studies on the cultural history of Song scholar's studio, gold and silverware, and visual art of the Silk Road.

Date: May 28

Venue: West Electronic Classroom, UCLA

Website: www.international.ucla.edu

Summer Special: Restaurant-themed Walking Tour, New York

Restaurants have played a major role in Chinatown's history since the early settlements. The earliest Chinese eateries in New York catered strictly to the needs of Chinatown's turn-of-the-century "bachelor society". Over time, Chinatown's restaurant industry reflected the neighborhood's changing immigrant population and shifting needs. This themed walk traces the evolution of eateries in Chinatown, highlighting the ways in which these spaces have both shaped and reflected the community.

Date: May 25-Aug 31

Venue: The Museum of Chinese in America

Website: www.mocanyc.org

Diplomatic pouch

In an interview with Foreign Affairs magazine, China's Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai said his first priority in his new role is to "make sure that the frequency of high-level contacts continues and the mechanisms that we have set up between the two countries also continue and, where necessary, improve." He noted that former president Hu Jintao and President Barack Obama met 12 times in the past four years, saying, "This is quite rare, even between the US and its allies; it's certainly rare for China's relations with other countries." New President Xi Jinping and Obama had "a very good conversation on the phone" shortly after Xi took office, Cui said. Xi will meet Obama in Sunnylands, Rancho Mirage, California early next month.

The US consulate-general in Shenyang announced that the endowment for a memorial scholarship for Lu Lingzi, a student from Shenyang who was one of the three victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, has swollen to more than $710,000. As part of its efforts to help the Lu family through this tragedy, Boston University established the scholarship to honor her memory. The scholarship will help deserving students attain an excellent education at one of America's quality universities.

San Francisco Consul-General Yuan Nansheng hosted a reception at his residence last week to celebrate Mayor Edwin Lee's successful visit to China. Lee, former mayor Willie Brown and 30 entourage members attended.

"This is the first official visit to China by the first Chinese-American Mayor of San Francisco and is of great significance to the cooperation between China and San Francisco," Yuan said. "During his visit, Mayor Lee met Chinese Vice-President Li Yuanchao, as well as heads of various ministries and local governments. They exchanged views on further strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation and reached important consensus."

As part of Earth Month, the Shenyang consulate-general's weekly webcast on May 23 featured veteran conservationist, tree planter and forest firefighter Diane Oliver in a program titled Conservation and Preservation of Public Lands in America.

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

(China Daily 05/24/2013 page23)