A cultural and tourism promotion event was held in Los Angeles on Thursday to promote China's Guizhou Province to the U.S. public, and strengthen bilateral local-level exchanges and cooperation.

The event was held on the sidelines of the 19th Chinese American Film Festival and the Chinese American Television Festival, which kicked off in Los Angeles Wednesday evening.

He Yunjiang, director of the Radio and Television Bureau of Guizhou Province, introduced Guizhou's unique natural resources, profound history and culture at the event.

He invited people from all circles from the United States to visit Guizhou, explore cooperation and experience the culture and charm of the province.

Guizhou has established sister province-state relations with the U.S. state of Nebraska. Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou, enjoys sister city links with the U.S. cities of Fort Worth, San Francisco, and Cupertino.

In recent years, both sides have expanded exchanges in various fields such as economy and trade, culture, tourism, sports, and education, according to He. Guizhou's film and television productions have appeared at the Chinese American film and TV festivals over the years.

"We hope to take the platform of the Chinese American film and TV festivals to further enhance exchanges and cooperation between Guizhou and various localities of the United States," He said.

Li Zhiqiang, deputy Chinese consul general in Los Angeles, said the Chinese American film and TV festivals have played important roles in bridging mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples.

He expressed the hope that the festivals would continue to offer a platform for American people to better understand China, showcase Chinese productions to the world, and cement bilateral people-to-people exchanges and friendship.

Richard Anderson, a renowned American writer and director and Oscar winner, told Xinhua he is very interested in visiting Guizhou in the near future, and hopes to explore with Chinese counterparts co-production of films in Guizhou.

"We hope to see closer U.S.-China exchanges and cooperation in various areas," he noted.

The Chinese American film and TV festivals were founded in 2005 by EDI Media Inc., with an aim to promote film and television industry exchanges and cooperation between China and the United States, and to enhance the influence and visibility of China's outstanding film and television works on international markets.

The annual event is usually held in November in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles County Office has named November as "Chinese American Film Festival and Chinese American Television Festival Month."

James Su, chairman of EDI Media Inc. and organizer of the festivals, told Xinhua he hopes the festivals will further boost exchanges and cooperation between the two countries' film and television industries, and serve as a bridge to beef up friendship and understanding between the peoples.

A series of panels were held during the festivals, bringing together professionals in the Chinese and American film and television industries to share their experiences and discuss cooperation.