On May 16, 2024, the Chinese Embassy in the United States held the “My China Album: Sharing Our Stories about China” event. Ambassador Xie Feng attended the event and delivered remarks.

Ambassador Xie noted that over the past year, we have collected over 100 stories, and compiled them into this “China album”. The album has recorded the legacy of our peoples learning from one another. In September 1973, the Philadelphia Orchestra toured China, the first American orchestra to do so since the founding of new China. Musicians from both countries played the Chinese orchestral piece The Moon’s Reflection on the Second Spring, which became a cherished memory for many. Last November, at the concert commemorating the 50th anniversary of the tour, the familiar melody again resonated across the hall with the performance of musicians from both sides, a new chapter in the five-decade-long friendship.

Ambassador Xie said that as envoys of goodwill, giant pandas have brought joy to many American people over the past five decades. Our cooperation on panda conservation has been fruitful. Together, we have successfully bred 17 panda cubs, helping to take pandas off from the endangered list. Among the guests today, we have an American scholar who is fascinated with Chinese tea and committed to promoting the tea culture; martial arts lovers who went on an incredible journey to China to learn from esteemed masters; students who shined bright on the stage of the “Chinese Bridge” competition; and a young Chinese American documenting multicultural stories through the lens. Tender yet powerful, culture opens up windows for Chinese and American peoples to understand each other, and builds bridges between our hearts.

Ambassador Xie pointed out that the foundation of the China-U.S. relationship was laid by our peoples, its door was opened by our peoples, its stories are written by our peoples, and its future will be created by our peoples. It is the reaching out to each other by our peoples that has time and again brought China-U.S. relations from low ebbs back onto the right track. Currently, China-U.S. relations are still facing serious challenges. We need to forge a closer bond between our peoples and open our hearts to each other, so as to inject more warmth and impetus into this relationship.