In summer of 2004, an official US tourism office was established in China. During its opening news conference attended by the US Embassy's visa consuls and the US government officials, a clear welcome message was sent to the ordinary Chinese citizens who intend to visit the USA as a tourist. On December 6th, 2004, a Sino-US Tourism Memo was signed in order to promote tourism into both countries. As of January 15th, 2005, Chinese citizens for the first time started to obtain multiple entry visas into the USA. Today, Chinese tourists are considered VIPs in western countries, and ordinary Chinese citizens vacationing in the USA is no longer a dream.