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Twenty-Seven High-Ranking Chinese to Visit SAE And SAE 2000 World Congress

25 February 2000

Twenty-Seven High-Ranking Chinese to Visit SAE And SAE 2000 World Congress

    WARRENDALE, Pa., Feb. 25 -- Twenty-seven delegates from the
People's Republic of China will arrive in Pittsburgh Sunday, February 27 for
the start of a two-week trip that will include visits to the Society of
Automotive Engineers (SAE) in Warrendale, the SAE 2000 World Congress in
Detroit, Michigan and the National Institute of Standards and Technology in
Washington, D.C.
    The purpose of the visit is to promote cooperation between the standards
development organizations in the U.S. and China.  Titled the China Standards
Initiative, the program will acquaint the delegation with the U.S. agencies
and organizations involved in standards development and conformity assessment
as well as the public and private sector responsibilities for auto quality and
safety.
    During their two days at SAE headquarters in Warrendale, the delegates
will get a comprehensive overview of the standards process from the Society
that is responsible for developing standards for the automotive industry.  Max
Rumbaugh, SAE executive vice president and general manager; Ray Morris,
Executive Director, Products and Services and several SAE group directors and
staff members will make the presentations.
    On Wednesday, March 1, the delegation will travel to Washington, D.C. to
participate in the U.S.-China Automotive Standards Workshop at the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
During their stay in Washington, the group will learn about the U.S.
regulatory system, government agency programs, and public/private initiatives
related to the mobility industry.
    Travelling to Detroit, Michigan on Tuesday, March 7, the group will join
more than 46,000 attendees at the SAE 2000 World Congress being held at the
Cobo Center.  Delegates will visit SAE Standards Committee meetings, tour the
exhibit hall where more than 1,200 automotive companies will be displaying
their products, or attend several of the more than 1,300 technical
presentations being given during the Congress.
    Ford Motor Company will give the delegates a tour of its Wayne Assembly
Plant on Thursday afternoon, March 9 and on Friday morning, March 10, Delphi
World Headquarters in Troy, Michigan will host the delegation for a
presentation on Delphi's worldwide automotive operations.
    A number of U.S. companies are sponsoring the Chinese visit, include
Caterpillar Inc., DaimlerChrysler Corporation, Delphi Automotive Systems, Ford
Motor Company, Lear Corporation, Magna International Inc., Robert Bosch
Corporation, Shanghai General Motors Corporation Ltd., and Visteon Automotive
Systems.