The National Committee’s long history of involvement in Congressional Members delegations was revisited shortly after China National Offshore Oil Corporation’s (CNOOC) attempted acquisition of UNOCAL failed due to Congressional objections. This failed attempt was a vivid reminder of the importance of the Congress in U.S.-China relations and the valuable role that the National Committee has played and will continue to play in Congressional leadership education.

The National Committee took a major step in this direction in January 2006 when, for the first time in many years, it arranged, funded and accompanied a Congressional delegation to China. The delegation was composed of the two co-chairs of the newly formed bipartisan Congressional U.S.-China Working Group (USCWG), Rick Larsen (D-Washington) and Mark Kirk(R-Illinois), along with a member of the Working Group, Tom Feeney (R-Florida). The 2006 USCWG delegation was the first foreign group since 1989 to visit the manned-space launch center in Jiuquan where the Vice Space Administrator agreed to work with NASA in developing a joint space rescue capability.

As the co-sponsor for all USCWG delegations to China, the National Committee most recently arranged a visit for Congressmen Larsen and Kirk to visit Beijing, Urumqi, Kashgar, and Shanghai. The two Congressmen held substantive meetings on Olympic security, U.S.-China defense cooperation and a military-to-military hotline, food and product safety, border security, counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics trafficking, and trade and economic policy.

Future visits are scheduled for after the 2008 elections.