District Energy Asia Summit, Beijing

Discussions on technology and policies. Project information will also be shared from active heating and cooling projects in China.

Date: Feb 13-14

Venue: Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel

Website: www.districtenergyasia.com

International Conference on Traffic and Transportation Engineering, Hong Kong

The conference presents current research and provides opportunities for delegates to exchange new ideas and application experiences, establish business or research relations and find global partners for future collaboration.

Date: Feb 17-18

Venue: Selected places

Website: www.ictte.org

International Conference on Intelligent Information and Networks, Hong Kong

Scientists, scholars, engineers and students from universities worldwide talk about research activities and foster research relations between academia and industry.

Date: Feb 17-18

Venue: Selected places

Website: www.iciin.org

China International LED Application Forum, Guangzhou

The focus is on the entrance standards and the certification process of light emitting diode products. Case studies of infrastructure and commercial projects will be discussed.

Date: Feb 19 and 21

Venue: Selected places

Website: www.ledchina-forum.com

Conferences & Meetings \>\> In the US

Save the Date! Forecast 2012, Washington, DC

Experts share their thoughts on China's economy in 2012, the year of US presidential and congressional elections; challenges for US companies in China; and prospects for bilateral ties.

Date: Jan 18

Venue: The Ritz-Carlton, 1150 22nd Street

Website: www.uschina.org

Chinese Religions Seminar, Boston

This series focuses on latest research in the study of Chinese religions. By inviting scholars from different disciplinary perspectives and with different areas of specialty, the seminar explores the complexity of Chinese religions, past and present.

Date: Jan 27

Venue: CGIS South, Room S153, 1730 Cambridge Street

Website: fairbank.fas.harvard.edu

Culture \>\> In China

Spirit of Christmas, Beijing

This New York-style Christmas show features glittering costumes, a dazzling cast, and "the highest kicking chorus girls this side of the North Pole".

Date: Jan 12-15

Venue: Poly Theater

Website: theatrebeijing.com

San Francisco Quartet Jazz, Shenzhen

The band is dedicated to the full range of jazz, with a focus on hard-swinging standards, hip originals, and the rarely heard hinterland between jazz and classical music.

Date: Jan 14

Venue: Shenzhen Poly Theater

Website: www.damai.cn

Culture \>\> In the US

East/West: Visually Speaking, Oregon

Organized by the Hilliard University Art Museum, Lafayette, Louisiana, the exhibition presents the work of contemporary Chinese artists who merge Eastern and Western visual languages. Each participating artist presents a multifaceted view of contemporary China and its new place on the world stage.

Date: Till Jan 15

Venue: Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art

Website: jsma.uoregon.edu

Qiu Anxiong: Animated Narratives, Dallas

This exhibition by artist Qiu Anxiong includes paintings and video art. Qiu's unique videos are created by a stop-motion animation technique from images of his paintings. Together the paintings and videos in this exhibition offer insight into Qiu's process.

Date: Till Feb 5

Venue: The Crow Collection of Asian Art

Website: www.crowcollection.com

Diplomatic pouch

US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell wrapped up his visit to China this week and moved on to the Republic of Korea and Japan. His five days of talks with leaders on a broad range of issues included the recent political changes in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Myanmar.

Speaking on Wednesday in Beijing on the first stop of his trip, Campbell told reporters he met Chinese leaders for "very fruitful, broad discussions" covering a series of topics. He said the United States and China "share strong determination to maintain peace and stability" as the DPRK undergoes political transition.

"I met for almost four hours today with Vice-Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai and a range of other officials from the Foreign Ministry and elsewhere," he said at Beijing's airport on Wednesday before flying to Seoul. "During those discussions we reviewed the results of last year, a very successful visit of President Hu Jintao to the United States, a number of high-level engagements at various multilateral fora, G20, APEC, East Asia Summit."

The US Consul General in Shanghai, Robert Griffiths, met 18 university student reporters from the China University Media Union just before Christmas.

Yvette Wang, director of the consulate's information resource center, met the group first and explained the center's resources and services. Griffiths presented each student with a gift and posed for photos.

The students come from several different universities in Shanghai and volunteer as student reporters on their respective campuses.

Speaking at Caijing magazine's annual conference last month, US Ambassador Gary Locke complimented US and Chinese government working groups on export controls "that have extensively deliberated to identify areas for progress on specific items. China provided a list of 141 items for which it desires greater imports, items that it wants to purchase from the US".

Locke said the US needs additional detail from China on the remaining requested items to determine whether and under what conditions they can be exported.

Locke spoke at the conference at the invitation of Caijing magazine editor-in-chief Wang Boming and Boyuan Foundation chairman Qin Xiao.