OREANDA-NEWS. November 25, 2011. Capt. Wei Jiafu, received the "Outstanding Contributions Award of US-China Exchanges"  presented by the China General Chamber of Commerce in the USA ("CGCC"). The award was presented by Hon. Zeng Peiyan, former Vice Premier of China's State Council, reported the press-centre of COSCO Group.

This is the first time the CGCC presented an award to the individuals who made significant contributions to promote the Sino-US relations. The other recipients include Hon. Ma Xiuhong, former Vice Minister of Commerce of China; Hon. Richard M. Daley, the former Mayor of Chicago; Mr. Maurice Greenberg, Chairman of C.V. Starr & Company Inc. (former Chairman of AIG).

The ceremony was also attended by the Chinese Ambassador to the US, His Excellency Zhang Yesui, and the Minister of Commerce of China, Hon Chen Deming. Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg sent a special congratulatory message to the award recipients. Mr. Hu Huaibang, Chairman of the China Bank of Communications, attended the ceremony and expressed his congratulations. The event, held in the heart of Financial District in New York, was attended and witnessed by over 600 CGCC members as well as local political and business representatives.

In an acceptance speech, Capt. Wei described the philosophy entailed in the Chinese character "Ying", which means "win", and he recommended that US should open wider arms to welcome Chinese investors. He also stated that "in an era of unprecedented sophistication of world economic and financial status, the business communities of China and the US need to shoulder more responsibilities and to find new areas of win-win cooperation."

On behalf of COSCO Americas Inc, President Liu Hanbo received the "Outstanding Member Award of the Year" from CGCC at the ceremony.