On the evening of January 16, 2024, the Chinese Embassy in the United States held a reception celebrating the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States and the 2024 Chinese New Year.

Ambassador Xie Feng said in his remarks that the upcoming lunar year will be the Year of Dragon. Dragon symbolizes good luck, prosperity and strength, and carries wishes for a smooth year with good weather and a bumper harvest. As a Chinese proverb goes, “Spring comes early if people word hard enough.” We hope the world will see less rivalry but more goodwill, less “fuming dragon, roaring tiger”, but more “soaring dragon, leaping tiger”. More importantly, we need to act with the vitality of dragon and earnestly foster China-U.S. friendship. Let’s keep the steering wheel steady, hoist the sail of dialogue and cooperation, navigate the giant ship of China-U.S. relations without getting disoriented, losing speed or even having a collision, and continue to break waves and forge ahead along the right course.