US Congressmen Call for Understanding of China

Visiting US congressmen called in Singapore Thursday for enhancing understanding of China and encouraged US youngsters to become professional on the Chinese language and its history.

Alcee Hasting, a member of the House of Representatives who is in Singapore for a five-day visit, told Xinhua at a meeting-the- media session that most of his colleagues in the congress can not say they understand the nuance about China, at most only about 10 percent of them meet the needs to have a clear picture about China.

"I have been to China five times in two years.... Do I understand China? No," he said, "Because in addition to economics, there is the culture, there is the growth, there are the significant population concerns and environmental concerns and there are so many attendant features."

Hasting, who serves concurrently on the intelligence, international affairs, political affairs and security and cooperation committees, pointed out that his colleagues are paying more attention to China and learning more about China

He said that 122 Congress members had visited China for the two years running and more US delegations went to China in the years of 1999 and 2000 than in any of the other places in the world.

Hasting also noted that 45,000 Chinese students are studying in the US and only some 3,000 American students are studying in China, saying, "More Chinese are learning about the US than we Americans are about China."

Another delegation member, Solomon Ortiz, also a member of the House of Representatives, pointed out that China is growing rapidly and great changes have taken place in China.

"China is growing by leaps and bounds and I have never seen an economy like China," he said.

He said he was surprised to see a regional district airport in northern China is more modernized than that in his district in the United States.

"China is dynamic, building up, and people are so friendly so that you can not help but to do business well," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 5, 2002)