Following the success of the AHEC 20th SEA & GRCH Convention in 2015 in Nanning, China, it is my pleasure to announce that AHEC 21st SEA & GRCH Convention is scheduled on June 23 and 24 at the Westin Hotel, Chongqing. I sincerely invite you to attend the convention.

Chongqing, the biggest Autonomous Municipality in China with a population reported to be 36 million has GDP per capita of $4,123 (RMB 25,216). Chongqing is located on the upstream of the Yangtze River from Shanghai. The Municipality, located in the Southwest, has been the hub for trade, transportation, design and manufacturing, and is leading technology and financial services covering half of China's total population of 650 million. It is tipped to be the center of timber trading and distribution for Southwest Region of China in the next 10 years.

Chongqing is about an hour by high speed rail link from Chengdu - the capital of Sichuan, an investment hub where over 350 among 'Fortune 500' companies have set up their offices and production facilities. The two cities reflect the economic charm and power in Southwest of China.

Despite recent softening of economic growth, China's economy is still in an upward phase. According to a report at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of PRC, its economy growth in 2016 could maintain a growth rate between 6.5% to 7% and domestic consumption would be playing a very important role to strengthen China's economic recovery, which would compensate weak overseas export markets in the years to come.

The convention will be hosted by AHEC and supported by the Chongqing Furniture Trade Association, Chongqing Furniture Chamber of Commerce, Chengdu Furniture Industry Association, Shanghai Timber Trade Association and China Institute of Interior Designers (Chongqing). It is expected to attract over 350 delegates and over 30 AHEC hardwood exporting members to attend. Exports of U.S. hardwood products to Greater China and Southeast Asia were valued at US$1.33 billion and US$0.30 billion respectively in 2015.

This year's Convention will again feature a mini trade show for AHEC members, providing a platform for networking with local traders, distributors, manufacturers and specifiers.

The Convention will help to promote U.S. hardwood for the consumer market. In this Convention AHEC will feature six keynote presentations to address the environmental concerns by intoducing the sustainable American hardwoods to the manufacturers, distributors, importers and designers.

AHEC is grateful for the strong support from the trade and design industries, associations and communities across China and Southeast Asia. AHEC is also grateful for the continuous support from the media from USA, China and Southeast Asia.

I would like to thank U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service and ATO Office of U.S. Embassy in Chengdu, the American hardwood industry and AHEC members for their support.

Last, but not least, I would like to thank all the delegates and participants for attending the Convention and I wish you all a fruitful Convention and hope you will make new business partnerships while also enjoying the AHEC program.