Chinese Ministry of Commerce Vice Minister Wang Chao and U.S. Acting Under Secretary of Commerce Mr. Mark Doms and then Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Demetrios Marantis shake hands after signing The Second Phase Report on the Statistical Discrepancy of Merchandise Trade between the U.S. and China, with the support the principal leaders from the Chinese delegates and U.S. hosts, (L to R) China’s Ambassador to the United States Zhang Yesui, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Liu Lihua, Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan, Acting U. S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke at the 23rd Session of the U.S. China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012. The JCCT holds high-level plenary meetings on an annual basis to review progress made by working groups that focus on a wide variety of trade issues. These working groups meet throughout the year to address topics such as intellectual property rights, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, information technology, tourism, commercial law, environment, and statistics. USDA photo by Lance Cheung.