On February 13, Consul General Hong Lei visited Cargill and Medtronic in Minnesota and met with Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cargill David MacLennan, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Cargill Marcel Smits, Corporate Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs for Cargill Devry Boughner Vorwerk, Senior Vice President of Medtronic John Liddicoat, Vice President of Medtronic Michael Hill, Vice President of Global Government Affairs for Medtronic John Southwick, Vice President of R&D for Medtronic Martin Gerber, and Vice President of Business Development and Strategy for Medtronic Shawn Monaghan. Commercial Counselor Zou Xiaoming was also present at the meeting.

Cargill and Medtronic executives introduced their recent development and future plans in China respectively. They said that Cargill and Medtronic have attached great importance to establishing close ties and deepening cooperation with China. Cargill Chairman MacLennan said that the firm has long been optimistic about China's development prospects. Currently it has more than 50 business operations in China spreading widely across the country. Moreover, Cargill has made large-scale investment in China in recent years.

At the same time, Cargill has provided long-term food safety training for stakeholders in China. The company is willing to share with Chinese partners its experience of safeguarding food safety that it has accumulated in the past 150 years. Senior Vice President Liddicoat of Medtronic said that the company sees China as the most important future market outside the United States. In recent years, Medtronic has invested in several factories producing advanced medical equipment in Chengdu, China. In addition to a medical innovation center in Shanghai, Medtronic is actively involved in building another medical innovation center in Chengdu. Medtronic is willing to further strengthen its cooperation with China's food and drug regulatory authorities to advance bilateral cooperation in the field of medical equipment innovation. Executives of the two companies said that U.S.-China cooperation is very important to US businesses and that the two companies support the development of long-term, mutually-beneficial and cooperative relations between China and the United States.

Consul General Hong Lei expressed his appreciation to Cargill and Medtronic for their commitment to cooperating with China. Consul General Hong Lei said that the fast development of Cargill and Medtronic in China demonstrates that the win-win economic and trade cooperation between China and the United States has brought tangible benefits to both sides.

Consul General Hong Lei added that the 19th CPC National Congress has set the goal for China to become a great modern socialist country by 2050. By that time, China will become a medium-developed country and provide tremendous opportunities for the world. In this process, China will continue to expand its opening up to the outside world, and share opportunities for development with other countries. It is hoped that Cargill and Medtronic will continue to seize the opportunity of China's development, fully utilize their professional advantages, and further develop their business in China. Their own business successes will also contribute to the healthy and stable development of China-U.S. relations.

Consul General Hong Lei said that in November this year, China will host the first International Import Expo in Shanghai. This is a major decision by the Chinese government to firmly support trade liberalization and economic globalization by further opening up its market to the world. The Expo will provide a great opportunity to deepen cooperation between China and the world, including the U.S. All businesses are welcome to participate in the Expo.