Dear students, distinguished guests,
Thank you for coming afar to the Consulate. I am heartened to see so many young people showcasing interest in and care for China and China-U.S. relations, especially your willingness to have more communications and promote mutual understanding with Chinese young people.
Two weeks ago, President Xi Jinping and President Biden held a positive, comprehensive and constructive meeting in San Francisco. This is an important opportunity for the two sides to build trust, clear up misgivings, manage differences and expand cooperation and has charted the course for improving and developing China-U.S. relations.
The two presidents agreed to promote and strengthen dialogue and cooperation between the two countries in various areas and reached many important consensus on promoting people-to-people exchanges, such as to further increase direct passenger flights, streamline visa application process and expand educational, student, youth, cultural, sports and business exchanges. In his important speech delivered at the welcome dinner, hosted by friendly organizations in the US, President Xi mentioned the word people over 60 times. He stressed that the foundation of China-U.S. relations was laid by the two peoples, the door of China-U.S. relations was opened by the two peoples, the stories of China-U.S. relations are written by the two peoples and the future of China-U.S. relations will be created by the two peoples. He also announced that China is ready to invite 50,000 young Americans to China on exchange and study programs in the next five years.
Our two peoples are truly inspired by the important consensus reached between the two heads of state. You are actually the first group of students to visit China that the Consulate supports and assists after the Summit Meeting. Congratulations to every one of you on your upcoming trip. Your choice to visit China for exchange at such a young age has manifested your broad vision as well as your open and inclusive minds. My sincere tribute to all of you. The Long Beach-Qingdao Sister City Association has made lots of efforts to facilitate this visit. The Long Beach City Government and the Port of Long Beach have long supported China-U.S. youth exchange. I would like to express my appreciation to them. No matter how the circumstances change, the fundamental desire of the Chinese and American people for exchanges and cooperation will never change. At this moment, it’s you who are giving me more confidence and motivation to implement my mission of promoting the sound and steady development of China-U.S. Relationship. Let’s work together hand in hand.
China and the U.S. are the two largest economies in the world. China-U.S. relationship is one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world. The bilateral trade volume has reached 760 billion US dollars, the two-way investment has accumulated to more than 260 billion US dollars, and 284 pairs of sister provinces/states and cities have been formed. Before the pandemic, there were more than 5 million mutual exchanges annually, 400,000 Chinese students came to study in the US, and there were once more than 20,000 American students studying in China. Long Beach has been a star city in having exchanges and cooperation with China. As the second largest port in the United States, the Port of Long Beach is an important gateway for China-US trade. The annual trade volume of the Port of Long Beach reaches US$200 billion, among which 70% of the cargo volume is related to China, creating 2.6 million jobs across the United States and supporting 575,000 jobs in Southern California. The Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles have been working with the Port of Shanghai to build a Green Shipping Corridor. The port of Long Beach also signed a letter of intent to establish sister relationship with the Port of Guangzhou recently. Since I took office, I have visited the Port of Long Beach twice. This November, I was honored to accompany China Special Envoy for Climate Change Xie Zhenhua to visit the Watt EV charging station,which showcases the admirable actions by Long Beach’s in building a green port. Cal State University Long Beach is popular among Chinese students, with hundreds of Chinese students studying at the campus. There is every reason to believe that Long Beach will continue to benefit from the sound and steady development of China-US relations and play a very unique and positive role in fostering the friendship between our two peoples.
This October, in his meeting with Governor Newsom, President Xi Jinping pointed out that the foundation and hope of China-U.S. relations lies with the people, the future lies with the youth, and the vitality lies with sub-national entities. The Consulate always welcomes and supports more American friends to visit China. We hope we can help more people to feel a real, multi-dimensional and comprehensive China. We will continue to hold China-California Business Forum, promoting the mutual beneficial cooperation between China and California. We will continue to support Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach with Port of Shanghai to build Green Shipping Corridors, working together to tackle climate change. We will support the consular district to expand educational, student, youth, cultural, sports and people-to-people exchange with China. We are ready to continue our cooperation with the United States on panda conservation, and look forward to witnessing the envoys of friendship returning to California.
The young generation in China and the U.S., with their youthful vigor, are the fundamental force driving and promoting our common cause of friendship. Wish you a successful trip and a pleasant stay in China. I hightly recommend you try the high-speed trains, enjoy Chinese food, experience Chinese culture, talk with Chinese youngsters and make Chinese friends. When you come back, I hope you can share with your friends and family about the real China, true Chinese stories and amicable Chinese people you have met and explored. Next time we meet, you must have all become “China hands” . I am sure you are eligible to play the role of friendship envoys between our two two great nations.
Thank you.
