Ambassador Xie urges younger generations to help write a new chapter in bilateral relations
China’s top envoy to the United States said he hopes younger generations of Chinese and US people enhance exchanges and help improve relations between the two countries.
Speaking at a “Written in the Sky: My China Story” event on Sept 28 in New York, Ambassador Xie Feng said the future of China-US relations lies in young people.
“We encourage the younger generation to visit and interact with each other more often, to bring hearts closer and pull together,” Xie said. “We hope there will be more letter writers and storytellers in our two countries. We will write new stories of friendships and cooperation together.”
The event, co-hosted by China Media Group, or CMG, and the Bank of China, celebrated the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and commemorated the 45th anniversary of China-US diplomatic relations.
Participants shared their experiences of engagement with China through letters and stories, reflecting on past experiences, and offering insights and visions for future generations.
“Hopefully, when we look back at our life, we will not regret having done nothing to prevent our two countries from sliding back into estrangement and confrontation, nor will we be ashamed of yielding to ‘political correctness’ and allowing the world to veer into another ‘Cold War,’” Xie said.
“And hopefully, when our future generation opens this chapter of history 50 years from now, they will feel fortunate that at such a historical juncture, China and the US have once again made the right choice.”
Xie said that more than 10,000 US youths have visited China since President Xi Jinping proposed that 50,000 young Americans go to China for exchanges and study programs within five years. Xi made the invitation during his summit with US President Joe Biden last November.
The ambassador welcomed more US youths to become envoys of “goodwill of the new generation”, as well as more US tourists to travel to China with the 144-hour-visa-free-transit policy.
Kenneth Cryan and Luke Rankin, students at Tri-Cities Prep Catholic High School in Pasco, Washington state, spoke of their recent trip to China.
Cryan told China Daily that he participated in the cultural and sports exchange event with Chinese students at Beijing No. 8 High School. Playing basketball was a lot of fun and helped him make friends that he would stay in touch with, he said.
Rankin told the audience that his favorite food is hot pot, even though it is very spicy.
Since 1979, Xie said people-to-people connections never stopped. China and the US were once linked by ping-pong, and now the ball is larger with basketball. He said younger generations will continue to connect the two countries through culture and sports.
“Any conflict or confrontation that begins will be our failure and a disaster for the world. Any return to distractions for antagonism would be a loss for both and a tragedy of history. What our two peoples want, and the world hopes for, is a healthy, stable, and sustainable China-US relationship,” the Chinese ambassador said.
At the event, Xie said he had received many letters from US people since last year — children in California shared their excitement over the return of giant pandas to the San Diego Zoo; a farmer by the Mississippi River expressed hope to sell more corn to China; and many fans of Chinese culture, sinologists, and students of the Chinese language voiced their support for a stable China-US relationship.
The foundation for China-US goodwill and the impetus for interactions remain as strong as ever, and there is “every reason” to stay optimistic and hopeful, he said.
Lamont Repollet, the president of Kean University in New Jersey, said that thousands of students have benefited from education exchanges. Kean is the only US public university that has a full campus with thousands of students in China.
Denis Simon, the former executive vice-chancellor of Duke Kunshan University in China, spoke of how impressively China has changed since his first visit to the country in 1981.
He said close exchanges between the Chinese and US peoples, especially the young, benefit both countries and the world.
David Firestein, the inaugural president and CEO of the Texas-based George H. W. Bush Foundation for US-China Relations, said both sides are closely linked economically and need to cooperate in various fields, which can lead to mutual success.
