"When we established diplomatic relations exactly 30 years ago on January 1st, we could not have imagined that we would have Chinese companies listed on the NYSE, whose market capital is in excess of 800 billion US dollars," Orlins said, "It is just remarkable."

Currently, there are 41 companies from Chinese mainland listed with NYSE, the premier US listing venue for non-US companies.

Stephen A. Orlins (R2), president of the United States National Committee on US-China Relations (NCUSCR), Henry Kissinger (R3), former US secretary of state, attend a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and China in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, the United States, January 5, 2009. NYSE kicked off its trading session on Monday with the special ceremony. Orlins rang the market's Opening Bell. [Xinhua]

Duncan L. Niederauer, CEO of NYSE Euronext, told Xinhua that he has taken the relations with China as one of his most important initiatives during his years as chief executive. He also suggestedthe Chinese companies to "stay the course" and stick to the good business when dealing with the global financial crisis and economic downturn.

"There is always years like this in global markets where it is a very very tough ride. I think there are a lot of terrific companies in China. They either already listed or are in the queue to be listed, and we're gonna continue to support them through the ups and downs," Niederauer said, "I believe their fortunes will improve overtime and we just need a long-term outlook of it."

NYSE was the first foreign exchange to receive approval to open a representative office in China. After the opening of its Beijing office on December 11, 2007, NYSE has signed memorandums of understanding with China's Dalian Commodity Exchange and Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange in co-operations in the futures and options markets.

Among the guests to the Monday ceremony were Peng Keyu, Chinese consul-general in New York, and Jan Berris, vice president of the NCUSCR.

The national flags of the United States and China wave out of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, the United States, January 5, 2009. NYSE kicked off its trading session with a special ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and China. Stephen A. Orlins, president of the US National Committee on US-China Relations (NCUSCR), rang the market's Opening Bell.[Xinhua]

(Xinhua News Agency January 6, 2009)