– Current & Upcoming Events –
Regularly Scheduled Monthly Meeting
The Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee usually meets at 5:30 pm on the second Thursday of every month. Meetings are held at Baltimore City Hall, 100 North Holliday Street, Baltimore, MD 21202. During the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, a call-in option is being made available.
Interested persons who are not committee members should contact the Committee Chair in advance to arrange access to City Hall and/or to receive the meeting call-in information.
Our Home Too: A Forum in Support of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Communities |
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| May 27, 2021 at 7:00pm-8:30pm | May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM), a time when we recognize the history and achievements of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. Unfortunately, this year’s celebrations are marred by increasing rates of targeted violence against AAPI individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. These actions are rooted in our nation’s history of periodic exclusion, discrimination, racism, and xenophobia which have long been juxtaposed with the vitality, promise, and mutual benefit endowed by our diversity of backgrounds and experiences.
Please join Baltimore Sister Cities and our partners in solidarity, community and celebration as we honor the invaluable contributions of AAPI communities in Baltimore and Maryland. During this panel discussion, we will explore what AAPI heritage means to all of us. How have AAPI communities contributed to Baltimore and American history? What are AAPI communities currently doing to contribute to culture, the arts, activism, and public service in our region? What new directions are they calling for? For more information go to- Our Home too |
Pratt Library Announcement |
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| May 22nd, 2021 at 1:00pm-4:00pm | The Pratt Library is celebrating all month long with “Imagination Celebration” in its many branch libraries throughout Baltimore City. An interactive program based on a children’s book “Everywhere Wonder” by Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr.
Take & Make: Chinese Fan This take & make kit will be available at the Washington Village Branch on May 22 from 1pm to 4pm on a first come, first served basis, while supplies last. This program is part of the Imagination Celebration, celebrating children’s creativity with special events, arts and crafts, and more throughout the month of May. The Imagination Celebration is made possible by Transamerica. Washington Village For more information go to- Imagination Celebration |
COVID-19 in Baltimore and Maryland |
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| Ongoing | Baltimore Sister Cities Food Drive for our hungry neighbors: Support food insecure members of our community by donating to the Maryland Food Bank! |
– Selected Recent Programs –
14th Annual CHINA Town Hall |
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| November 10th, 2020 – November 18th, 2020 | Join us for the 14th Annual CHINA Town Hall, hosted nationwide by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (NCUSCR) and in Baltimore by the Baltimore – Xiamen Sister City Committee.
In light of the growing downturn in U.S.-China relations over the past year, CHINA Town Hall has expanded from a single night into a multi-night series of programming to address the range of issues confronting the relationship. The series will kick off at 7:00PM on Tuesday, November 10th, starting with a keynote event with renowned investor Ray Dalio, followed by events on three subsequent evenings, each focused on a specific issue area: economics and trade, climate and health, and society and culture. In addition, a fifth Mandarin-language event will be held for Chinese-speaking audiences in the United States, China, and around the world. Due to public health concerns, Baltimore’s 2020 edition of this event will be all-virtual. To allow a wider audience to participate, this year’s event is free to attend. Register via Eventbrite |
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China International Fair for Investment & Trade (CIFIT) |
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| September 8th, 2020 – September 11th, 2020 | The China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) occurs in September of every year in Xiamen, China. CIFIT aims to focus on international business investment, promotion, development, and relations both in and outside China. The fair has been held annually for more than 30 years in Xiamen, Fujian Province in southeast China and is the largest such event in the country, regularly attracting more than 100,000 business people and 5,000 enterprises from more than 100 countries.
Due to the current COVID-19 situation, CIFIT has elevated their platform to be both online and in-person. This year, BXSCC is partnering with the Maryland Department of Commerce to have a virtual booth to advertise and promote multiple aspects of Maryland industry and business. The Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee (BXSCC) is celebrating 35 years of sister city relations with Xiamen this year. For more information on CIFIT, please visit https://www.chinafair.org.cn/ Many of MD Department of Commerce and BXSCC international activities are going virtual this year, so please contact Felicia Pullam (MD Department of Commerce) or Robin Su (BXSCC Business Sub-Committee Chair) at their respective organizations to get involved in future events. |
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BXSCC Announces New Secretary |
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| June 17th, 2020 | BXSCC members elected Brian Jia through 2021. Brian is also taking over as Website & E-Communications Content Manager. | |
City of Xiamen Donates 50,000 Surgical Masks to Baltimore |
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| May 29th, 2020 | On May 24th, a shipment of 50,000 surgical masks valued at nearly US$ 25,000 arrived at JFK Airport in New York for further transport to Baltimore. This is a gift from Baltimore’s sister city of Xiamen, China to the City of Baltimore to assist in the city’s COVID-19 response efforts. It follows an April letter of support from Xiamen Mayor Jiahan Zhuang to Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young. The masks will be kept at the Baltimore City Emergency Operations Center and distributed based on requests received from local health care institutions to meet critical shortages of this equipment.
More about this project can be found in the press releases linked to below:
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Asian Pacific American (APA) Heritage Month 2020 |
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| May 2020 | Pursuant to public health guidelines during the COVID-19 outbreak, the in-person 2020 celebration in partnership with Enoch Pratt Free Library was unfortunately cancelled. We’ll be back in 2021 – but in the meantime, we encourage all members of the BXSCC community to visit virtual APA-themed displays from our community partners:
Towson University’s Asian Arts & Culture Center and partners created a virtual Asia North celebration: https://www.towson.edu/campus/artsculture/centers/asianarts/collection-resources/asia-north/
Baltimore Asian Pasifika Arts Collective’s Virtual Art Gallery: https://baltimoreapac.org/apahm-virtual-art-gallery
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Port Discovery’s Year of the Rat Lunar New Year Celebration Event |
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| January 25th & 26th, 2020 | BXSCC members volunteered at Port Discovery Children’s Museum on Saturday, January 25th and Sunday the 26th to celebrate the Lunar New Year with personalized bookmarks, handicrafts, coloring pages, lessons on how to use chopsticks, and a photo booth. | |
13th Annual National Committee on U.S.-China Relations CHINA Town Hall: Local Connections, National Reflections |
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| Monday, November 18, 2019 at 5:30PM Baltimore City Hall |
National Panelists (via webcast):Mr. Steve Orlins
President of NCUSCR
Dr. Melanie Hart
Senior Fellow and Director for China Policy at the Center for American Progress
Dr. Yasheng Huang
International Management Professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management
Dr. Ely Ratner
Executive Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for a New American Security
National Moderator (via webcast):ABC News Chief Anchor
Local Moderator (in person):Mr. Nat Ahrens
Executive Director and Founder of American Mandarin Society
China’s rapid development and Sino-American relations have a direct impact on the lives of nearly everyone in the United States. CHINA Town Hall is a national conversation about China that provides Americans across the United States and beyond the opportunity to discuss issues in the relationship with leading experts.
The 2019 CHINA Town Hall, hosted by the National Committee on U.S. China Relations (NCUSCR), included a nationwide webcast featuring four national panelists: Mr. Steve Orlins, Dr. Melanie Hart, Dr. Yasheng Huang, and Dr. Ely Ratner. The Baltimore program, which was hosted at Baltimore City Hall by the BXSCC and the Office of the Mayor, followed the national program with a local discussion moderated by Mr. Nat Ahrens in person. For more information regarding our national and local speakers, please follow the hyperlinks above.
Check-in & refreshments in Baltimore began at 5:30pm and the nationwide program began at 6:00pm. The local address was from 7:30 to 8:30pm EDT. For further details regarding the Baltimore program, please view the Eventbrite page.
The 2019 edition of this event was sponsored locally by BRIC, LLC, the Exelon Asian American Resource Group, and the University of Maryland Office of China Affairs.
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BXSCC Announces 2020-2021 Leadership Team |
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| November 14th, 2019 | The BXSCC is pleased to welcome our leadership team for the 2020-2021 term! Continuing officers on our Executive Committee include Xin (Cindy) Wang as Chair, Danny Evans as Vice Chair, and Arella Liu as Treasurer. Hosea Chew has been newly elected Member-at-Large. For the latest information on our Sub-Committees and Functional Teams, please visit our Leadership page. | |
World Trade Center (WTCI) State of the Ports / Embassy Wine Tasting / 30th Year Anniversary |
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| November 13th, 2019 | The BXSCC supported the joint Baltimore Sister Cities presence at this celebration for Baltimore businesses with global trade interests. | |
Charm City Night Market |
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| September 21th, 2019 | The BXSCC engaged with the Baltimore community with a booth at this annual street festival near historic Chinatown celebrating Baltimore’s Asian community and businesses through conducted a calligraphy activity and other programming. | |
Xiamen & Beijing “Youth Ambassadors” Summer Camp |
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| June 24th to July 4th, 2019 and various | BXSCC Vice Chair Danny Evans spearheaded the planning of and led this visit of 16 Baltimore and Maryland high school-aged students and 2 other chaperones to Xiamen and Beijing. The BXSCC obtained funds via cash grants, donations, and fundraising activities to help offset trip costs. Organizational & business in-kind sponsors included Chick-Fil-A, Starbucks, Shake Shack, Blaze Pizza, Papa John’s, and Xiamen Shuangshi Middle / High School.
Summer trip activities included: In Xiamen, students took classes in airplane modeling, tai chi, calligraphy, folk music & music appreciation, Minnan-style Mid-Autumn Festival culture, literature, martial arts, polymer clay, and more at Xiamen Shuangshi Middle / High School. Participants visited Xiamen Airlines, the Xiamen International Convention and Exhibition Center / BRICS Xiamen Summit venue, Xiamen University, Nanputuo Temple, Gulangyu Island, and engaged with the Xiamen Office of Foreign Affairs. In Beijing, the students visited Peking University, Tian’anmen Square, the Palace Museum, the Beijing American Center (U.S. Embassy in Beijing), the Juyongguan section of the Great Wall, and Beijing Olympic Park. Associated events included: Two kick-off briefings (on December 7th, 2018 and January 18th, 2019), three participant and parents meetings (on March 29th, May 3rd, & June 14th), a visit to the State Department and USAID in Washington, D.C. (on June 21st), a Small Business Administration presentation (on July 24th), a debriefing with Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young (on July 29th), and a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Panel discussion in Washington, D.C. (on August 29th). At an August 2nd closing reception & awards ceremony, three Youth Ambassadors were presented with certificates and gift cards for their excellent participation in the Youth Ambassadors program. |
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Annual Baltimore City High School Chinese Embassy Trip |
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| June 6th, 2019 | It is a yearly tradition that BXSCC collaborates with schools in Baltimore city to bring students to visit the Chinese Embassy in D.C., to expand their horizon and learn more of China. On June 6th, BXSCC collaborated with Bard High School Early College and brought 24 exceptional students who are currently taking Chinese class from the 9th grade to 12th grade levels to visit the Chinese Embassy. The visit was followed by an authentic Chinese lunch in a restaurant located in Baltimore’s old Chinatown. The students expressed that it was an eye-opening experience, that the forum held after the guided tour helped them gain an in-depth understanding of modern China, and that they look forward to future opportunities to study or work in China. | |
Baltimore’s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) Celebration |
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| May 31st, 2019 | The Baltimore – Changwon, Baltimore – Kawasaki, and Baltimore – Xiamen Sister City Committees along with other area Asian and Asian-American organizations, came together in celebrating Asian Pacific American (APA) cultures and the contributions of APAs to Baltimore at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). BCSCC led the 2019 event planning. Over 550 guests attended, including representatives of the Japanese and Chinese embassies and from the local Vietnamese community. Welcome remarks by MICA president Samuel Hoi.
Guest speakers included Maryland State Senator Susan C. Lee and Dr. Van-Khue Ton, a University of Maryland cardiologist. The event consisted of martial arts demonstrations, singing, dance and drum performances, and other cultural activities. |
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The BXSCC Welcomes Xiamen International Bank Delegation to Baltimore |
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| May 24th, 2019 | BXSCC officers met with human resources representatives of Xiamen International Bank at the State of Maryland Department of Commerce offices, as liaised by BXSCC member and Commerce’s Regional Manager for East Asia Felicia Pullam. | |
Sister Cities Animated! Film Screening |
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| February 11th & April 5th, 2019 | At the SNF Parkway Theatre on February 11th and at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County on April 5th, Baltimore Sister Cities held an international screening of short animated films created by artists working and/or residing in Baltimore and in Baltimore’s Sister Cities. Sister Cities Animated, which featured 20 short films, was curated by award-winning animator and animation scholar Lynn Tomlinson, with help from assistant curator Safiyah Cheatam. The screening’s “Student Award” was awarded to “The Burning of the King Boat” by Xiamen Academy of Arts and Design, Fuzhou University student Kai Gao. | |
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