First, let me take this opportunity to extend friendly greetings to everyone in Kansas City.
　Xi'an is the Capital of China's Shaanxi Province. It covers an area of 10108 square kilometers. The population is 7,530,000. Within Xi'an's jurisdiction are nine districts, and four counties. Xi'an, in ancient times known as Chang An, has undergone a 3100 year process of development and has the distinction of being classified, along with Cairo, Rome and Athens, as one of great metropolises of ancient civilization. Because of the rich history preserved in Xi'an, it occupies an extremely important place in the development of world history. It represents a radiant and shining page in the story of human civilization.

　Chang An served successively as the center of China's government, culture and economy throughout the Zhou, Qin, Han, Tang and the following thirteen dynasties. Since its founding as a capital of China, it has endured 1,100 years of existence. At the peak of the Tang dynasty, Chang An was especially prosperous. In regards to population, scale, and many other categories, it was first in the world. At that time, on the stage of history, it was not only the main destination in Asia, it was also a symbol of Asian civilization and the Chinese spirit. Xi'an, due to its long history and luminous culture has become famous worldwide as city of history, and also a hot spot for tourism.
　Modern day Xi'an has already become West China's most important area in terms of economy, high tech, business and trade, and culture. Xi'an integrates one of the country's strong technological levels, 47 general, high-level universities, 571 thousand students, 400 thousand skilled technicians and specialists. Furthermore, Xi'an is an important base of manufacturing in China. The city's vigor is so evident that it has been declared by the United Industrial Development Organization to be the "World's most vigorous city".
　In recent years, Xi'an's economy has been developing rapidly. The five leading industries are high tech, equipment manufacturing, culture and entertainment, travel and finance, exhibitions, logistics for the modern service industry. Due to its development space, Xi'an has formed a high tech Industry Development District, Economic Development District, Chan Ba Ecological District, Qu Jiang New District, Yan Liang National Airlines High Tech Industrial Institute, Xi'an Space Travel Technology Institute. Xi'an's efforts to attract foreign investment have matured quickly. Already, we have 57 countries represented in foreign investment. Ninety-two Fortune 500 companies have invested or set up offices in Xi'an.Kansas City is a key figure in U.S. Midwest industry and commerce. It is also a national transportation hub, agricultural center and the hometown of a great friend to the Chinese people, Edgar Snow. Kansas City and Xi'an have much in common. Both cities are geographically central in their respective countries. Two other shared features are relatively advanced high tech industries and rich educational resources.
　On April 29th, 1989, Xi'an and Kansas City became sister cities. Over the last twenty years, both cities have relentlessly pursued wide ranging bilateral cooperation and communication in Economics, Trade, Culture, Education, Labor, and other areas. The two cities have promoted bilateral societal and economic development, and deepened the sense of friendship among between their respective citizens. Xi'an has sent a delegation of firefighters to visit the Kansas City Firefighting Department, where both sides carried out joint studying and talks on firefighting facilities, equipment, firefighter squad management, emergency rescues, and other topics. Fan Zhi Hua, a rural painter from Xi'an's Hu county, paid a visit to Kansas, to tell the story of the formation and development of Hu county's rural art, and gave a demonstration. Kansas City sent an Education delegation to visit Xi'an, to further bilateral cooperation and hold talks on cultural and educational development. As a symbol of friendship, my city presented Kansas city with a gift of four reproduced Terra-Cotta Soldiers, one of the Eight Wonders of the World, to help Kansas City better understand Xi'an culture and history. I sincerely hope both cities can look toward the future, hand in hand, ever broadening the field of cooperation, furthering the promotion of friendship between the two cities, and to promote Sino-U.S. friendship with vigor and devotion.
　Currently, the people of Xi'an are working towards the building of a "Cultured Xi'an, Active Xi'an, Harmonious Xi'an." We arduously welcome each and everyone from Kansas City and all of the United States to Xi'an for a glorious trip, to step into history, feel civilization, experience first hand our way of living, and invest in our fantastic industries. Xi'an, a city thriving city with a splendid history is a fantastic place to for setting up a business, it will most certainly bring back rich and continued returns!
　Open, beautiful Xi'an welcomes everyone!

　Xi'an and Kansas City established their sisterhood in April 1989. Among the 16 international sister cities, Kansas City is among the earliest that forged sisterhood with Xi'an, and she is Xi'an's only sister city in United States. It is of great significance to strengthen the economic and foreign trade cooperation between the two cities, so as to push forward the cooperation between Xi'an and the U.S.
　Shared similarities promise bright prospects of the cooperation between the two cities. Both of them are most important inland metropolises in their respective countries, serving as national educational centers, manufacturing centers and tourist centers. Even more, each of them is close to their national geodetic origins. I hope the two cities can further the existing relationship through long-term exchange systems. Kansas City will help promote Xi'an in the U.S., and introduce Xi'an to more American investors, especially quality service outsourcing companies.

In return, Xi'an will offer investors with strong government service support, friendly investment environment, and good profit.
　Located at the joint point of China’s eastern and western regions, Xi’an has convenient access to resources in the west and money in the east. It also plays a strategic role in implementing the strategy of coordinated development of regional economies of China and developing cooperational ties with central Asian, western Asian and European countries. As the hub of western China’s economy and culture, it has become China’s another important economic growth point, second to the Changjiang River Delta, the Zhujiang River Delta and the Bohai Coast Region. In its six well-equipped development zones, world-renowned companies concentrate, such as Micron Technology, Applied Materials, United Technologies, Johnson & Johnson and Cummins, to name only a few. Low investment cost and efficient government service has rendered Xi’an the largest investment “lowland” in western China.
　At present, the U.S. is the second biggest investor in Xi’an. There are 333 U.S.-invested enterprises, with total investment value reaching $ 1.787 billion, and contracted foreign capital almost $ 1.1 billion. In 2006, U.S. became the biggest foreign trade partner and the second biggest export market of Xi’an. The bilateral import and export value totaled $ 805 million, 34.3% up year on year. The rapid growth of Sino-U.S. foreign trade provides us a good opportunity to further the relationship. We value the intense economic ties between Xi’an and U.S. and welcome more American entrepreneurs to visit Xi’an, get to know Xi’an, and invest in Xi’an.