HNA Group Culminates 'HNA International Week' Highlighting Its Commitment to the U.S. Market through Panda Diplomacy 2.0

NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- HNA Group, a global Fortune 500 company focused on tourism, logistics and financial services, today culminates a week of celebrating its commitment to international business, corporate philanthropy and continued dialogue between the United States and China.

Heralded as HNA International Week, the celebrations began on Friday, October 27 with the goal of underscoring HNA Group's mission to promote cultural exchange, business and economic development and to support the organizations in the communities in which it operates.

HNA International Week was anchored by the launch of two new flight routes from HNA subsidiary Hainan Airlines between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and the western Chinese cities of Chengdu and Chongqing. The week comes on the heels of recent U.S. investments by HNA Group in Ingram Micro and Hilton Worldwide Holdings.

This surge of investment, along with increased tourism and travel opportunities, reflects HNA Group's commitment to cultivating the global ties established between the U.S. and China some 45 years ago.

Speaking about the important role global business leaders play in U.S.-China relations, HNA Group CEO Adam Tan said: "As China has opened up, the symbolism that once connected it to many nations around the world has been replaced by new business partnerships, economic ties, and cultural exchange. This new era of what I call 'Panda Diplomacy 2.0' is characterized by business leaders working together for bilateral benefit and, at the same time, forging stronger ties between our countries."

The economic relationship between China and the U.S. has led to greater prosperity and opportunity for both nations. According to the World Bank, in the four and one-half decades since President Nixon's visit to China, U.S. GDP has expanded from $5.1 trillion to its current level of nearly $17 trillion, and China, likewise, has grown from $207 billion to $9.5 trillion.

HNA Group contributes to this strong partnership, as it owns and operates 15 firms in the U.S., with total assets of about US$16.9 billion, employing 45,000 employees in the United States.

As part of HNA International Week, the company honored this growth and its continued desire to foster trade between the two countries with an 'East-meets-West' themed event at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, October 27. Welcoming 300 people, HNA Group showcased its commitment to a global community and celebrated the new Hainan Airlines flights for their ability to initiate cultural exchange through increased travel and tourism between the U.S. and China's lesser known western cities.

Commenting at the Lincoln Center event on October 27, Christopher Nixon Cox, grandson of President Nixon said: "By opening direct routes from the U.S. to cities like Chengdu in China, HNA is carrying on the legacy forged by my grandfather and Chairman Mao and Zhou Enlai almost half a century ago. That is bringing our world closer together, and allowing our two great peoples to better understand each other."

Commenting on the importance of the new flight routes at the same event, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney said: "I really believe that people-to-people exchanges like this can be how one culture really comes to understand another more fully on a deeper and more connected level."

HNA Group continued the week by supporting a number of philanthropic events throughout New York City, including the China Institute Blue Cloud Gala where Governor Andrew Cuomo and Ronald Perelman received Blue Cloud awards, the Asia Society Game Changer Awards Gala and the Calvary Hospital Charity Gala. In alignment with the company's support of sustained trade between the U.S. and China, HNA Group announced a donation of 1,000 Hainan Airlines tickets to Asia Society to promote cultural exchange, and CEO Adam Tan was awarded Calvary Hospital's Calvary Medal for his philanthropic efforts around the world.

About HNA Group

HNA Group is a global Fortune 500 company focused on tourism, logistics and financial services. Since its founding in 1993, HNA Group has evolved from a regional airline based on Hainan Island in southern China into a global company with approximately $145 billion of assets, over $90 billion in annual revenues, and an international workforce of 410,000 employees, primarily across America, Europe and Asia. HNA's tourism business is a fast-growing, vertically-integrated global player with market-leading positions in aviation, hotels and travel services. HNA operates and invests in nearly 3,200 hotels with over 380,000 rooms across major markets, and has 1,250 aircraft carrying nearly 100 million passengers to 270 cities worldwide. HNA's Logistics business is a leader in logistics and supply chain management with capabilities in shipping and equipment manufacturing, maritime transportation, third-party payment platforms and project finance. In financial services, HNA is China's largest non-bank leasing company, and a leading provider of a diverse set of businesses in equipment leasing, insurance, asset management, investment banking and credit services. For more information, visit www.hnagroup.com

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