The scale and speed of development of the American financial industry in China has not been matched by the development of China's banks in the United States.

The first Chinese bank to establish its branch in the United States was the Bank of China (BOC). As China's main bank to conduct foreign exchange trade, the Bank of China established its first branch in New York in 1981, and later opened another branch in New York and Los Angeles respectively. The Communications Bank of China established a New York branch in 1991.

In late 1991, to crack down on money laundering, the United States promulgated the Foreign Bank Supervision Enhancement Act. It stipulates that if a foreign bank wants to establish a branch in the United States, it must obtain prior approval from the Federal Reserve Board. This made it more difficult for foreign banks to enter the U.S. In 2007, promoted by the China-U.S. Strategic Economic Dialogue, China Merchants Bank, a non-governmental shareholding bank, won approval to establish a branch in the United States.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) filed its application to establish a branch in the United States in April 2007, and the China Construction Bank (CCB) did the same in February 2008. For months neither received any answer from the Federal Reserve Board.

The issue of ICBC and CCB entering the American financial market got put at the top of the agenda for the fourth China-U.S. Strategic Economic Dialogue that took place in the U.S. from June 17 to 18, 2008.

Liu Mingkang, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, in talks with Ben Shalom Bernanke, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, urged the FRB to accelerate its approval process for the applications from Chinese banks to establish branches in the U.S. Bernanke said that the applications from ICBC and CCB were being handled, that the American side had no doubts regarding the qualification of the two banks; furthermore, they had respect for the opinions of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, and work on the evaluation of related elements of the applications continued. The American side hoped to finish as soon as possible.

One of the achievements of this round was an agreement to launch negotiations on the Bilateral Investment Treaty. The American side said it welcomed the sovereign fund from China and reiterated its promises to open the financial market, give Chinese banks national treatment, and accept in a timely manner their applications to establish branches in the United States. It assured that it would examine and approve applications according to relevant procedures without intentional delay. China declared that the investment decisions of China's sovereign fund would be based totally on business criteria.

Two months after the dialogue, ICBC won approval to establish a branch in New York, and six months later CCB's application also got the nod.

In October 2008 China joined the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), donating US $350 million to support its financial development project in the Latin America and the Caribbean region. Addressing the IDB press conference, Zhou Wenzhong said, "After 15 years of unremitting effort, a historic breakthrough has been made in China's joining the Inter-American Development Bank."

He continued: "The United States used to be negative about China joining the Inter-American Development Bank, but after the launching of the China-U.S. Strategic Economic Dialogue its attitude gradually changed, and finally it had no objection. This led to a progressive deepening of negotiations between China and the bank, and ultimately to our joining it."

A Platform to Strengthen Cooperation

Since the Hu-Obama meeting in early 2011, people are seeing a new type of China-U.S. cooperative partner relationship based on mutual respect and reciprocal benefits.

China is the biggest developing country and the United States is the biggest developed country. The impact of the Sino-American relationship goes far beyond the bilateral dimension. Both sides have special responsibilities to world peace, stability and development. As Zhou Wenzhong put it: "There are many common interests in China-U.S. economic relations and trade. It is a globally strategic relationship and, in the deepening of globalization, many issues call for cooperation and dialogue."

According to Zhou, on average 5,000 people a day travel between the two countries. In January 2011, President Hu Jintao visited the United States and reached an agreement on the regular exchange of provincial and state governors that will strengthen relations between Chinese provinces and American states. Now, more than 80 Confucius Institutes and Confucius classrooms have been established on American soil, with some of the funding and faculty provided by China. The number of people learning Chinese in the United States is much greater than students of other foreign languages, and the Chinese language is a carrier of the Chinese culture and a tool of economic life. Zhou Wenzhong commented, "The fever to learn Chinese in the U.S. indicates the importance that Americans attach to the Chinese people, and their desire for cooperation and exchange with China."

As each other's second biggest trade partner, the two-way trade volume increased from US $80.5 billion in 2001 to 385.24 billion in 2010. U.S. exports to China increased 2.9 fold, and its direct investment in China exceeds US $65.22 billion, making it one of the largest sources of foreign investment. China's investment in the U.S. also exceeds US $4.73 billion and is increasing rapidly.

Zhou Wenzhong was positive about future prospects: "So many people come and go between our two countries, there is intensive cultural exchange, and the trade volume is huge. Of the 60-odd dialogue mechanisms, the highest level is the S&ED, which is sure to catalyze close bilateral cooperation, so that our partnership will advance day after day."