On September 29, 2026, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng gave an exclusive interview to Senior Foreign Policy Writer Tom O’Connor from Newsweek on President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the United States and China-U.S. relations. The full transcript was published on the Newsweek website on October 1.

Tom O’Connor asked: As President Xi visited the U.S., China’s cultural influence continues to gain traction on social media, with trends such as “Chinamaxxing” indicating concrete impact through an increase in tourism. How will this visit further shape people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, and do you identify opportunities to translate cultural exchanges into achieving progress on other areas of U.S.-China relations?

Ambassador Xie said, as President Xi Jinping noted, the hope of the China-U.S. relationship lies in the people, its foundation is in our societies, its future depends on the youth, and its vitality comes from exchanges at subnational levels. The latest visit was exactly a visit to carry on our friendship. President Xi fondly recalled the history of China and the U.S. starting trading with each other, fighting shoulder to shoulder against fascist aggression, and “moving the globe with a small ball” through Ping-Pong diplomacy. He shared the touching story of Chinese desert control worker Yin Yuzhen and American teacher Ronald Sakolsky reuniting after 27 years, and also announced a series of new measures to promote bilateral people-to-people exchanges.

The friendship between our two peoples is the most profound, steadfast, and enduring force driving the development of our bilateral relations. When I arrived in the U.S. in 2023, I felt that the so-called “political correctness” of being tough on China was spreading across American society. So I decided that one of my tasks would be to find all those friends who stand for developing China-U.S. relations, so we can put in the effort together. It is encouraging to see that,under the guidance of the two Presidents and with the joint efforts of people in both countries, American public opinion toward China has shown a sustained positive rebound after five years, and a recent poll by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs found that 57% of Americans favor friendly cooperation and engagement with China. American tourists ranked first among visitors to China from non-neighboring countries in the first half of this year, as more and more American friends are making the most of China’s 240-hour visa-free transit policy to travel to China, experience “China Cool”, and enjoy “China Haul”.

We hope the U.S. government will respond to the people’s aspirations, increase direct flights, facilitate visa and border entry procedures, keep the channel for two-way people-to-people exchanges open, and support dialogue and cooperation between our youths, as well as in various areas such as education, culture, tourism, and sports. We also encourage our two peoples to keep the momentum going, dispel the chill with the warm currents of close interactions, and nurture the flower of China-U.S. friendship so that it may bask in the sunshine and bloom in all its splendor.