I am deeply saddened by the passing of my longtime friend Tung Chee-hwa.
C.H. and I met when I was first traveling in China for Goldman Sachs in the 1990s and he was leading his family’s shipping business, Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL). Over the decades that followed, our paths crossed many times, and I came to know him not only as an accomplished business leader and Hong Kong’s first Chief Executive, but as someone who cared deeply about Hong Kong, China, and their relationship with the United States.
C.H. devoted much of the latter part of his life to building greater understanding between the United States and China. We did not always agree on every issue or every approach. But we shared a conviction that a constructive and productive relationship between our two countries matters—not only to the United States and China, but to the world.
My thoughts are with his family and friends.