Day 2 -- Let’s Get to Work

Monday, December 8, 2008. This was our first full work day in China. We started the day early at a meeting with the second in command at the China Banking Regulatory Commission. We had a very interesting discussion about how intertwined our economies (U.S. and China) are, especially in this current economic crisis.

Our second meeting was with the head of economic development and planning for Beijing city. He gave us a presentation on the city’s preparations for the Olympics and their plan for managing the costs, maintenance and facilities post-Olympics.

Lunch was with one of the directors of the All China Youth Federation (ACYF) – the Chinese counterpart to our trip sponsor, ACYPL.

After lunch we went shopping at the silk and pearl market. It was a 10 story shopping mall with hundreds of vendors, where bargaining is expected. You can find pretty much anything at the market and you should not pay more than 25-30% of the vendor’s initial asking price.

Our afternoon meeting was with the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This guy is the equivalent of the Deputy Secretary of State in the U.S. It was a very high-level meeting and we were honored that he was able to spend so much time with us, especially as he was also in the middle of a high-level summit with world leaders on the subject of North Korea.

Dinner was a ceremony and reception commemorating the 30-year relationship between ACYPL & ACYF. There were staffers from the U.S. Embassy, ACYF alumni and CCTV, the state TV network, filmed the event and interviewed 2 of our delegates. The story was played on CCTV that night.