On November 4, 2026, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng delivered a keynote speech via video link at the 2026 Kuliang Forum.

Ambassador Xie highlighted the stories of President Xi Jinping advancing China-U.S. people-to-people friendship, including forming lasting friendships with local people in Iowa, personally arranging for Mrs. Elizabeth Gardner to visit China, championing the touching story of the bond with Kuliang, and announcing initiatives inviting 50,000, and later 100,000, young Americans to China over the next five years, opening new doors for youth exchanges.

Ambassador Xie said that the friendship between our peoples is a growing source of strength for China-U.S. relations. The stories of our old friends continue to move and inspire us. Meanwhile, new friends are writing new chapters and taking our friendship to new heights. These quiet but enduring people-to-people connections provide constant momentum for the steady and sustained development of China-U.S. relations. Despite the ups and downs, China-U.S. relations have kept moving forward, with exchanges and cooperation in trade and other areas delivering practical results. At the heart of this progress is the shared hope of our peoples that our two countries will work together for mutual benefit and win-win results. Under the leadership of our two presidents, let us turn their shared understandings into action, and their handshakes into stronger bonds between our peoples across the Pacific. Let us build bridges with sincerity, strengthen bonds through cooperation, and nurture the tree of China-U.S. friendship. May our friendship, like the thousand-year-old cedars of Kuliang, grow deep roots, flourish across generations, and stay evergreen through every season.

The forum was held by People's Daily in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, and brought together more than 200 participants from various sectors in China and the U.S. Yu Shaoliang, President of People’s Daily, and Zhao Long, Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Fujian Provincial Committee spoke at the forum. Sean Stein, President of the US-China Business Council, and Michael Hart, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, delivered video remarks.