Chinese embassy in US holds reception celebrating 77th founding anniversary of PRC

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in the United States on Wednesday hosted a reception to mark the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC), drawing more than 800 guests to the event.

Photo: Agencies

U.S. Senator Steve Daines, representatives from the White House, the State Department, the Commerce Department and other federal agencies, friends from various sectors, and foreign envoys to the United States were among the attendees.

Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng said in his remarks that this has been a "big year" for China-U.S. relations. "With President Xi Jinping making his first state visit to the United States in 11 years, the two presidents exchanged visits in just six months, marking a historic milestone," Xie said.

This was a visit that has set the course for China-U.S. relations, expanded the scope of cooperation, renewed the bonds of people-to-people friendship, and underscored our shared responsibility to the world, Xie said.

"Under their leadership, our relationship continues to improve and move steadily forward, meeting the hopes of people in both countries and around the world," Xie said.

The Chinese ambassador noted that this year marks the start of China's 15th Five-Year Plan. "As the country makes steady strides toward national rejuvenation, it will bring more stability and positive momentum to the world."

"As China grows, so do opportunities for the world. When China and the United States work together, the world stands to benefit," Xie said.

Under the two presidents' leadership, "let us work together to build a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability on the basis of respect, fairness and reciprocity. Let us write a brighter chapter for both our countries and the world," Xie added.

Ronald Sakolsky, a retired U.S. teacher who supported China's efforts to combat desertification, Chase Robinson, director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art, Sean Stein, president of the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC), and American youths Ryan Corkery and Angelie Melara, who took part in the "50,000 in Five Years" initiative, shared stories of friendship and exchanges between the two countries at the event.

The initiative was launched in 2023 with the goal of inviting 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs over a five-year period. The target was achieved two and a half years ahead of schedule.

The China National Opera House gave a performance that was met with enthusiastic applause and cheers from the audience. The guests expressed their hope that China-U.S. relations will remain stable and move in a positive direction.

Sakolsky told Xinhua that his story with Yin Yuzhen -- a rural Chinese woman who devoted decades to holding back the shifting sands of the Mu Us Desert in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region -- shows that two ordinary people from two vastly different cultures can get along. "If we can get along, then more people can get along," he said.

As the Chinese people celebrate the National Day, Sakolsky said that he was grateful to China for "all the kindness" it had shown him.

Stein, in his remarks, said that the National Day is a great opportunity to recognize and reflect on China's remarkable development over the last 77 years and its extraordinary transformation. "It's also an opportunity to recognize what Americans and Chinese, and what American business and Chinese business have accomplished together," he said.

Responding to those who say American companies are walking away from China, the USCBC president said, "Let me reassure you that American companies continue to hire, innovate and build partnerships in China."