American Trucking Associations President and CEO Bill Graves Monday welcomed representatives of the China Road Transport Association as they began a two-day visit with trucking executives and policy experts designed to study U.S. trucking operations.

The delegation, which includes representatives of the Highway Transportation Administration Bureau, Beijing XiangLong Assets Management and Guangxi Wuzhou Communications, are meeting with ATA staff and ATA members Con-way Freight, Roadway and RoadLink on such topics as operations, truck safety regulations, driver training, federal and state tax structures, environmental regulations and a host of other issues.
"We are all part of a burgeoning global economy," Graves said. "The Chinese understand that their national economy is directly linked to freight transportation and a supporting national infrastructure."
For its part, CRTA said it is eager to learn how trucking in the United States expanded from localized operations under a patchwork of state laws to today's streamlined national and international logistics engine.
Mingde Yao, President of the China Road Transport Association, said through an interpreter, "Over the last year, the Chinese government has invested $100 billion on road construction. But the efficiency of Chinese freight transportation has a long way to go. Our main purpose is to understand how trucking in the United States has developed."
The group plans to meet with Tony Furst, director of the Federal Highway Administration's Office of Freight Management and Operations, before departing on a Con-way Freight facility visit in Greencastle, Pa., as well as a Roadway facility in Carlisle, Pa.