Evan Low, an assembly member of the U.S. state of California, Friday called for enhanced economic relations between China and the United States, including California.
"The significance of cultural and economic ties between China and California has become more prominent with the rapid growth of the economy of the People's Republic of China, especially in the recent decades," said Low in a statement.
As a fourth-generation Chinese American, he said he is proud of the positive reciprocal exchanges between California and China.
"With approximately 2 million Chinese and Chinese Americans living in California, an ongoing symbiotic cultural and economic relationship is important. Chinese immigrants have made significant contributions to the California we know today," said the statement.
The statement was released in response to the Assembly Joint Resolution 44 (AJR44), which was introduced by Low and approved by 75 of the total 80 California Assembly members on Aug. 31.
The AJR 44 announced that the legislature would actively support "continued coordination and collaboration between California and China to increase mutually beneficial economic opportunities and strengthen the substantial, bilateral relationship in the areas of people-to-people exchange, trade, climate change, education, tourism, technology, innovation, and green development."
In 2017, the total trade volume between California and China was 175.6 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 27.6 percent of the U.S. trade with China, according to the resolution.
Moreover, California's exports to China amounted to 16.43 billion dollars in 2017, accounting for 12.6 percent of U.S. exports to China.
"The Legislature urges the President of the United States and the Congress of the United States to support actions that further strengthen economic links between the United States, including California, and China," said the resolution.
An AJR does not have the power of law like a bill, but the copies of it would be transmitted to the president, each senator and representative from California in the Congress of the United States.
