Dear Friends：

As a member of the Presidium of the Organizing Committee of the Fo-rum on Business and Civil Society in China，permit me to congratulate the organizers and all participants in this week’s Forum，and to wish the Forum complete success.I especially want to pay tribute to the China Charity Federation，and its president，Mr.Fan Baojun；and to the China Association for NGO Cooperation and its Executive Director，Mr.Huang Haoming for their heroic work in creating and staging this forum.

For me personally，and for the US-China Business Council which I am honored to lead，the development of a vibrant and healthy civil society in China is an irresistible and welcomed histori-cal development.China is a huge nation，with a vast variety of geo-graphic，economic，and social conditions.Its people are talented，hard-working，and creative.The full energies of the Chinese peo-ple can only be tapped if China’s citizens have the fullest opportuni-ties to participate in organizations and associations that can con-tribute to the improvement of their lives and to the reducing of pressing social and economic difficulties.

As a representative of a non-governmental organization in the United States I have had many years’ experience in the “civil soci-ety” sector，which lies between government，on the one hand，and private business enterprise on the other.

The growth of voluntary associations which express the com-mon interests and needs of their members，within a legal environ-ment that encourages，rather than discourages，the formation of such associations，does not pose a challenge either to the legitimate functions of government or to the efficient operations of business en-terprises.Instead，a flourishing “civil society” sector helps ensure that both government and business contribute to the fullest extent possible to the overall benefit of society.

While charitable work is a key element in the civil society sec-tor，I believe that it does not exclusively define the term “civil soci-ety.” I hope that this Forum，and the international businesses that participate in it，will want to examine both charitable and other forms of civil society development in China.

I was extremely sorry that the SARS problem in the spring pre-vented this Forum from convening，as I had eagerly anticipated a chance to meet many old and new Chinese and international friends to discuss a subject very dear to my heart.This November，unfortu-nately，my schedule has not permitted me to participate personally in the Forum.I hope that all Forum participants，however，will welcome our Council’s representative，Mr.Iain McDaniels，Deputy Director of China Operatio-ns for the US-China Business Council.Mr.McDaniels combines many years of residence and business service experience in China with a personal background closely linked to the NGO and civil society sector，and he is ideally qualified to participate in the Forum on Business and Civil Society in China.

Again，please accept my congratulations and best wishes.