US Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Catherine Novelli shakes hands with Robert Barrows, former vice-president of operations at Wagner Asia Equipment, at the ceremony for the Secretary of State's Award for Corporate Excellence at the State Department in Washington on Tuesday. Chen Weihua / China Daily Linden Center, a US boutique hotel business operated in southwest China's Yunnan province, narrowly missed the Secretary of State's 2014 Award for Corporate Excellence when the annual award was announced Tuesday.