First US – China Governors’ Forum
National Governors Association Meeting to Pair U.S. Governors and Chinese Party Leaders
There is an ominous item on the calendar this coming weekend. It looks like Arkansas Governor Beebe will be attending the Annual Meeting of the National Governors Association (NGA) in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Governors from across the country will gather July 15-17 in Salt Lake City for the 103rd Annual Meeting of the National Governors Association (NGA). The purpose of this meeting is ostensibly to discuss the state’s role in supporting education, fostering innovation and increasing competitiveness.
At this same meeting, there is a U.S. – China Governor’s Forum to take place BEHIND CLOSED DOORS which will include one-on-one pairings of U. S. Governors with Chinese provincial party secretaries and Governors. We should be very alarmed as this poses a threat to our national security! The pairings, called “peer-to-peer exchanges,” aim to “strengthen bilateral cooperation.” Topics are to include items of “mutual interest,” i.e. “job creation, education, health and economic cooperation.”
This forum is the result of a Memorandum of Understanding concerning the establishment of the U.S.-China Governors Forum to Promote Sub-National Cooperation, signed by Sen. of State Hillary Clinton on January 19, 2011.
A second session will take place in China in late 2011 or early 2012.
Where’s the Document?
According to the Chinese Embassy in the U.S website, describing President Hu Jintao’s U.S. visit:
“During Hu’s January visit, the two governments signed a memorandum of understanding commissioning the CPAFFC and the NGA to create the governors forum mechanism.
According to the document, the forum will serve as an important communication platform aimed at promoting practical cooperation at the sub-national level in areas such as trade, investment, energy, environment and culture”
No amount of searching of the State Department, White House, and Chinese embassy websites has revealed the actual Memorandum of Understanding document.
A FOIA request for a copy of the MOU has been submitted to the State Dept.’s Office of Global Intergovernmental Affairs.
The 2011 NGA Winter Meeting , held in Washington D.C. featured Zhou Qiang, Party Secretary, Hunan Provincial Committee. Zhou encouraged increased sub-national cooperation.
What are the intentions of the Beebe administration regarding expanding Chinese involvement in Arkansas?
Does Gov. Beebe intend to partner with a Chinese party official at the July meeting in Salt Lake City and seek increased “sub-national cooperation”?
Does Beebe intend to encourage Chinese foreign direct investment in Arkansas or seek public-private partnerships with the Chinese in developing Arkansas’ infrastructure?
These and other questions need to be answered by our governor.
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