US National Governors Association Chair Christine Gregoire (2nd left), Vice-President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries Li Xiaolin (2nd right) and Hunan Provincial Party Secretary Zhou Qiang show the economic agreements between US governors and Chinese leaders during the US National Governors Association winter meeting in Washington on Saturday. Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Zhou Qiang, the top official from Central China's Hunan province, had plenty to talk about with his US counterparts when he attended the winter meeting of the US National Governors Association (NGA) on Saturday.

In less than one day, he managed to meet six governors and signed an economic cooperation agreement with Delaware Governor Jack Markell on the sidelines of the gathering.

"We didn't expect that we would have so much in common and we need to talk more," he told reporters.

Zhou is the first Chinese provincial Party secretary to visit the United States since the two countries signed a memorandum to establish a China-US Governors Forum during President Hu Jintao's state visit in January.

On Saturday morning, a formal agreement on the forum was signed by Li Xiaolin, vice-president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and Christine Gregoire, NGA chair and governor of Washington state.

The first forum will be held in July in Utah and at least five Chinese governors or Party secretaries are expected to attend, Li said.

As Beijing and Washington continue to build stronger government-to-government ties, both sides are aware that more local-level exchanges can help enhance communication and understanding between the world's two largest economies.

As China's economic focus begins to shift from the heavily developed coastal areas to central and western areas, Hunan, a vibrant province in Central China with nearly 70 million people, now enjoys great opportunities to strengthen its capabilities through more international cooperation.

The province, home to Chairman Mao Zedong, boasts ample natural and human resources.

In 2010, Hunan's total trade volume with the US reached $1.2 billion. Over 30 local companies from the province have investment projects in the US in the machinery, computer software design, and film and TV program production sectors.

The new forum is "a direct, practical and efficient" platform for exchanges of ideas and solving problems, Zhou said.

This idea, first proposed by US Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman Jr, a former Utah governor and US trade official, was warmly welcomed by US governors, Gregoire, told China Daily.

China is the largest trading partner of her own state of Washington and last September, she led a trade delegation of 80 business and community leaders to China.

"A key difference with this forum is that the conversation will be governor-to-governor and focus more on government and public policy issues, such as education, the environment, trade and other issues," she said.

Governor Jack Markell from Delaware said Chinese companies and consumers partnering with Delaware businesses and producers can contribute to job creation.

"People talk about thinking 'outside of the box', but when it comes to economic development opportunities, we need to think way outside our borders," he said.

China Daily