Asia Society of Southern California and the USC US-China Institute held an off-the-record discussion on June 28 with Ambassador Zhao Weiping, Vice President of the Chinese People's Institution of Foreign Affairs. The event was attended by ASSC Board members, as well as prominent business executives from the Southern California region. Ambassador Zhao discussed a wide range of issues and perspectives pertaining to the US-China relationship.

Ambassador Zhao has had a distinguished diplomatic career with China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a focus on North America and Oceania. He served as Counsel General in Chicago; Counselor in Washington, where he headed the congressional liaison group; and Counselor in Ottawa, where he led the embassy's political section. Mr. Zhao also served as Ambassador to Samoa and, after leaving the Foreign Ministry, as Vice Secretary General of the Sichuan Provincial Government. Zhang Ping, the Chinese Consul General in Los Angeles, accompanied Mr. Zhao along with a delegation from the Institute of Foreign Affairs.