Enhancing understanding and promoting prosperity will be the two objectives during his three-year term as the Consul General of the American Consulate General in Chengdu, Sichuan province, said Peter Haymond.

The new Consul General who joined the Consulate General Chengdu team in early September said that the two objectives would be achieved by facilitating the visa process more smoothly and strengthening the cooperation between the United States and southwestern China.

In the past two years, the number of people applying for visas in the US Consulate General in Chengdu has increased two folds.

In the first nine months of this year, the number of visa applications approved in the US Consulate General in Chengdu equalled the total for last year, Haymond says.

I know lots of people want to go to the United States. But I did not expect the rapid expansion in visa applications, he says.

To cater to the new situation, the US Consulate General in Chengdu has improved the work conditions of its visa office, increased visa officers and opened more windows.

According to Haymond, there are 20,000 American students in China. He hopes more senior American officials will visit Southwest China to boost mutual understanding.

He says he will visit companies in the consular district in the month to come to see which companies are suitable for development in the United States.

A Department of State Foreign Service Officer for over 20 years, Haymond previously served at the U.S. embassies in China, Laos, Thailand and Korea.

He has also worked in the State Department’s Washington offices of energy policy, counter terrorism, and multilateral economic development affairs.

Haymond holds a Ph.D. degree in economics from The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy at Tufts University. He received his B.A. degree in economics and international affairs from Brigham Young University.

He speaks Lao, Thai, Mandarin Chinese and some French.