The principal leaders from the Chinese delegates and U.S. hosts, (L to R) China’s Ambassador to the U.S. 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) are introduced and applaud the achievment it took to be able to witness the signing of The Second Phase Report on the Statistical Discrepancy of Merchandise Trade between the U.S. and China, and a Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Trade and Development Agency and the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China in Support of U.S.-China Trade Cooperation, at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012, in Washington, D.C. 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.