On Jan. 21, China’s Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang hosted representatives of the Port of Boston and the International Longshoremen’s Union, who presented him with a plaque on behalf of the port, for the 30 years since the Chinese shipping company COSCO established direct connections with the port, which really helped revive it from doldrums. Ambassador Qin observed that the establishment of their cooperation not only saved 9,000 jobs in the shipping industry, but also created an additional 400,000 jobs.
Ambassador Qin also received a Longshoremen’s jacket. In his remarks, he underlined the importance of trade with China for the American economy. “If China and the U.S. enter into conflict and confrontation, if we fight a trade war or a new `Cold War,’ it will be a political tragedy that benefits no one,” Qin said. “It will cause unbearable cost to each of us, to people like you and me. Faced with all these global challenges, fighting the pandemic, restoring growth, stabilizing industrial chain and supply chain, and addressing climate change, China and the U.S. have no better choice than solidarity and cooperation.”
