On the morning of November 13, 2015, Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi, the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives visited Peking University (PKU). She was accompanied by a delegation of Congressional Democrats.
Li Yansong, Vice President of PKU, extended a warm welcome to the guests from the US. Also attending the talks were Zhao Yang, Dean of the School of Chinese as a Second Language, Yuan Ming, Professor of the School of International Studies and Director of the American Studies Center, Zhang Haibin, Professor of the School of International Studies, Xia Hongwei, Director of the Office of International Relations, as well as PKU Chinese and international students.
At the beginning of the discussion, Pelosi made a brief introduction of the delegates and explained that the purpose of the visit was to reinforce the successes made during President Xi Jinping’s State Visit to the United States in September.
The discussion between Pelosi, the delegates, and the students mainly focused on issues of the global environment and climate change. Pelosi mentioned that young people are the future, and she would love to hear their opinions and questions.
Professor Zhang and the students discussed with the delegation the US government’s response to climate change, Sino-US cooperation on the issue of protecting the global environment, as well as the differences between developing countries and developed countries in environmental protection.
The delegates attached great importance to the upcoming 21st annual Conference of the Parties (COP21) to be held in Paris to review and update the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Both Pelosi and the delegation put forward their point of views over the event, and they each emphasized that climate change is a significant global issue. Pelosi stated that the leadership of China and the US is crucial to the protection of the global environment and that both countries should set a better example in environmental protection: “China’s contribution in recent years should be spoken highly of” she said, “and the United States will also strive to promote global environmental management, especially in the development of relevant scientific research.” Both sides are confident and optimistic that they must work together to battle global climate change.
At the end of the forum, Pelosi, along with the delegation, bid a warm farewell to students from and posed for pictures.
Background information:
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi (born March 26, 1940) is currently the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011. She represents the 8th district of California, which is part of the city of San Francisco. She was first elected to Congress in 1987. Pelosi is a member of the Democratic Party. She is the first woman to lead a major party in the United States Congress, and she is also the first woman and the first Italian-American to be the Speaker of the House.
Written by: Chen Meizhi
