Peter Shiao, Chairman of the CHINAWEEK Organizing Committee, speaks at the press conference in Beijing, Oct 27, 2015. (Photo / Provided to Ecns.cn)
Beijing (ECNS) -- A series of events to promote understanding between China and the United States will take place in Los Angeles from May 6 to May 15 next year, the event organizer announced at a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday.
Branded as CHINAWEEK, the event series will feature topics such as arts & culture, business, education, entertainment, environment, public affairs, science & technology, tourism and philanthropy.
Highlights of CHINAWEEK 2016 include a gala dinner, a business & trade forum, a Getty exhibition of Dunhuang Cave paintings, a summit on U.S.-China climate change collaborations, a concert, and other events throughout L.A. County.
Why L.A. County?
"We believe Los Angeles County is the best location for this event," said Peter Shiao, Chairman of the CHINAWEEK Organizing Committee, at the press conference.
"It's the center of the world's entertainment and media industry, and also home to the largest number of Chinese descendants in the U.S., not to mention a natural entry point for foreign investment into the U.S.," Shiao explained.
"It also boasts excellent weather and world-class institutions and infrastructure," Shiao added.
L.A. County is home to six major film studios — Paramount Pictures, 21st Century Fox, Sony, Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, and Walt Disney Studios.
Beyond motion picture and television program production, other major industries in L.A. County are international trade supported by the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, music recording and production, aerospace, and medicine.
Aimed at executing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between China's Ministry of Commerce and the State of California in April 2013, the annual CHINAWEEK project has much support at the official level.
"It provides a platform to highlight and host activities under the MOU to expand trade and investment. The events, programs and activities this coming May in Los Angeles will further our collaboration and create new opportunities," said California Governor Jerry Brown in a statement.
Moreover, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama announced their two countries would launch a "China-U.S. Year of Tourism" in 2016 during his state visit last month. Los Angeles, already a primary destination for Chinese tourists, will take this opportunity.
Online platform
The CHINAWEEK events will be marketed and promoted through a robust online platform with a tech savvy campaign coupled with traditional print, radio and TV media outlets.
"One [of the functions of the platform] is a promotional ticketing function. Because we believe the wide American public is very interested in China, we're going to be attracting them to our platform through a variety of means," Shiao said in an exclusive interview with Ecns.cn.
"Whether you like food, and you are interested in participating in one of our programs about food, or you like Chinese movies ... we have a very large social media presence to attract the right constituencies, and they'll find something unique for them once they get on the platform," Shiao said.
The platform will aggregate all the related topics of conversations. With unparalleled content and social engagement, it will provide a rich, dynamic and informative experience online as well as offline.
When talking about possible collaborations with web portals in China, Shiao said it is an open platform. "We look to collaborate with all authentic and real industry leaders."
The online platform is expected to engage tens of millions of people during CHINAWEEK 2016.
