News
2010 China Business & Trade Mission Briefing and Luncheon
June 17, 2010
The BXSSC, Maryland-China Business Council, and Maryland-Anhui Province Sister State Committee welcomed Mission pre-registrants and other interested parties to our briefing and luncheon at Hunan Manor in Columbia, Maryland. We were joined by distinguished guests Maryland Secretary of State John P. McDonough, Maryland Office of the Secretary of State Director of International Affairs Mendy Nitsch and Chinese Embassy representatives Minister Counsellor Zhang Ping and 1st Secretary Duan Jun. In addition to our briefing, guests were treated to special remarks from Secretary McDounough and Minister Counsellor Zhang as well as testimonials from Maryland businessmen who have found great success in doing business with China following their participation in past trade missions.
Please visit the Mission website at www.md2china.com for more information as well as continuing updates!
For photos from the event, please visit Our Facebook.
Chamber Music Concert Raises Funds for Asian American Health Care
May 23, 2010
The Chinese American Doctors Association (CADA) presented "Music for Compassion", a chamber music benefit concert featuring performances by area medical professionals and accomplished amateur musicians as well as Peabody Institute faculty, in Columbia, Maryland on May 23rd. Event attendees were treated to pieces by Bizet, Schubert, and Dvořák as well as traditional Chinese pieces such as the Butterfly Lovers Concerto. All proceeds from the event went to support the non-profit Asian American Healthcare Center (AAHC), a volunteer clinic dedicated to helping uninsured, underinsured, and low-income Asian American families in the state of Maryland.
CADA President and BXSSC member Dr. Alvin Zhang chaired the event’s organizing committee. In addition to BXSSC and Dr. Zhang’s Bronze Sponsorships, BXSSC members Kitty Chin and Daniel Green were also Bronze Sponsors for the event and many BXSSC members were present for this delightful evening of entertainment.
Baltimore City Celebrates Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month
May 20, 2010
The BXSSC joined other area Asian/Pacific American organizations and the City of Baltimore in celebrating Asian/Pacific American heritage at a tea tasting event at Baltimore City Hall the evening of May 20th. Along with Heritage Month Board members and BXSSC members Vincent Liu, Bob Zhang, and Kitty Chin, a large delegation from BXSSC enjoyed pan-Asian teas and snacks, traditional music and dance, and tea leaf readings at the event keynoted by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.
2010 China Business & Trade Mission Announcement and Reception
April 27, 2010
Kick-off and reception for companies interested in joining the September 2010 China Business & Trade Mission co-organized by the BXSSC, the Maryland-China Business Council, and the Maryland-Anhui Sister State Committee. This high-profile mission will be led by Maryland's Secretary of State, John P. McDonough, with assistance from federal and state trade agencies. The purpose of the mission will be to assist Mid-Atlantic companies find business opportunities and partners (i.e. matchmaking) in one of the world's most dynamic markets. The mission announcement and reception was held at the end of an all-day ChinaWise Business Seminar organized by BXSSC committee member Janee Pierre-Louis.
Baltimore and Xiamen Technical Schools Sign Historic Agreement
April 22, 2010
In the spirit of international cooperation and educational exchange, Baltimore City Public School System's Carver Vocational Technical High School and Xiamen Electronic Vocational School (XMEVS) entered into a formal sister school agreement at a contract signing ceremony at the Carver campus on Thursday, April 22. Carver, along with the BXSSC, hosted XMEVS President Mr. ZHANG Yongqiang, Vice Headmaster Mr. LAI Huiyu, and English teacher Mr. "Frank" ZHOU Xiangfang during their two-day visit to Baltimore. The sister school relationship was proposed during the BXSSC delegation's visit to Xiamen in September 2008, and has aims of 1) enhancing language studies on both sides through an email-based pen pal program, 2) using the internet to cooperate on other study projects (vocational, social studies, etc.), and 3) developing a summer exchange program for top Chinese and English language students from Carver Vo-Tech and XMEVS, respectively.
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Chinese New Year Celebration at Port Discovery
February 20, 2010
Kids of all ages celebrated the Year of the Tiger at Port Discovery Children’s Museum during an annual event supported by the Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee.
The event highlight continued to be our personalized Chinese calligraphy bookmarks, with artistry by a master calligrapher and on-site translations for names by committee members. In addition, committee members passed out fortune cookies and provided basic Chinese language, chopsticks, and zodiac lessons.
For more photos, please visit Our Facebook.
China Marine Resource Management Group Delegation visits NOAA
Singapore International Water Week
June 22 - 26, 2009
Peter Gourlay, Chairman of the Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Environmental Sub-committee and President of Maryland-Asia Environmental Partnership, is attending the Singapore International Water Week from June 22 through June 26, 2009 where he will speak as part of the North America Business Forum.
Singapore International Water Week is the global platform that brings policymakers, industry leaders, experts and practitioners together to address challenges, showcase technologies, discover opportunities and celebrate achievements in the water world. The theme of this year's event is "Sustainable Cities – Infrastructure and Technologies for Water". See www.siww.com.sg for more information.
Chinese Embassy Official Visits BaltimoreJune 11, 2009
Duan Jun, 1st Secretary at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the USA, visited Baltimore as the guest of the Mayor’s Office of International & Immigrant Affairs and the Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee. Ms. Duan, a native of Beijing, recently arrived in Washington, DC to work in the embassy department responsible for relations with U.S. state and local governments.
In Beijing she managed PRC relations with U.S. Sister Cities and other friendship associations. As part of her visit she attended the June monthly meeting of the Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee.
Baltimore Medical Delegation Visits Xiamen
April 24 - 27, 2009
A delegation of four Johns Hopkins’ doctors and the Chairman of the Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee attended the 50th anniversary celebration of the Xiamen Maternity and Child Health Hospital (also known as the Lin Qiaozhi Hospital in honor of this Xiamen native and pioneer of modern Chinese obstetrics and gynecology.) While in Xiamen the doctors presented medical lectures to the hospital staff and also met with the Dean of the Medical School of Xiamen University to plan long term cooperation and exchanges.
Participants included:
W. Fontaine Bell, Chairman of the Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee
Dr. Alvin Zhang, Clinical Cardiologist and President of the Chinese American Doctors Association
Dr. Lei Zheng, Clinical Oncologist and Secretary of the Chinese American Doctors Association
Dr. Jessica Linda Bienstock, Director of the GYN/OB Residency Program
Dr. Nancy Ann Hueppchen, Director of the GYN/OB Medical Student Clerkship Program.
Chinese New Year Celebration at Port DiscoveryJanuary 24, 2009
The Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee was a sponsor and participant in Port Discovery’s Chinese New Year Celebration for local children.
The highlight of the event was a master Chinese calligrapher who made bookmarks of individual’s names translated into Chinese. Committee members provided the “on-site” translation. Other activities included Chinese children’s games and a workshop on using chopsticks.
Maryland-Asia Environmental Partnership Reception for Beijing Municipal Water Delegation
January 14, 2009
The Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee was a cooperating partner and participant in a reception for a visiting delegation from Beijing’s Municipal Water Authority. The reception was organized by Peter Gourlay, President of Maryland-Asia Environmental Partnership (MD-AEP) and Chairman of the Baltimore-Xiamen Committee’s Environmental Sub-committee.
Henan Province Business Delegation
December 4, 2008
A 10-person delegation of business executives from Henan Province, China’s most populous province (99 million), was hosted by the Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee and the Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC) at an afternoon information and matchmaking session held at BDC’s headquarters. Attending from the Baltimore side were senior representatives from BDC, the Baltimore Mayor’s Office, M&T Bank, Cooper Wallace LLC, Christopher B. Miller Co., John S, Connor, Inc. Dartrans, Inc, the Regional Manufacturing Institute of Maryland and the Maryland-Asia Environmental Partnership.
Baltimore-Xiamen Dim Sum Brunch in Honor of Calvin Chin
November 9, 2008
More than 70 people attended this first annual dim-sum brunch to honor the late Calvin Chin, a patriarch of Baltimore’s Chinese community and a founding member of the Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee. The event was held at Jesse Wong’s Kitchen in Hunt Valley. Former Baltimore Mayor and Maryland Governor William Donald Schaefer was Honorary Chair of the event and many city and state dignitaries came to show their respects. Proceeds of this event went to support business, education and cultural exchanges between Baltimore and Xiamen.
Annual China Town Hall Meeting at Baltimore City Hall
April 17, 2008
The second annual China Town Hall meeting took place at Baltimore City Hall. Norman Ornstein of the American Institute for Public Policy Research spoke on the topic of "China Issues in the 2008 Presidential and Congressional Campaigns." The Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee, the Maryland-China Business Council and the University of Maryland's Institute for Global Chinese Affairs jointly sponsored the event.
Xiamen artist delegation visits Baltimore
July 18 - 24, 2007
A five-person delegation of top writers and artists from Xiamen visited Baltimore to participate in Artscape and to make contacts with the Baltimore art community in preparation for future exchanges and cooperation.
