To lay a solid foundation for the friendship between the Chinese and American people

To promote mutual understanding and affinity between the Chinese and American people, inject new impetus into the development of Sino US relations, place new expectations, and point out new directions.
The relationship between China and the United States is one of the most important bilateral relations in the world today, and whether the two countries can coexist correctly is related to the future and destiny of humanity. The current century long changes in the world are accelerating their evolution, and China US relations are facing enormous challenges. In recent years, the US government has played an ideological card to maintain its own hegemonic interests, constantly attracting allies to encircle and suppress China, attempting to engage in "decoupling and chain breaking", exacerbating the risk of misjudgment between China and the United States. How to avoid China and the United States falling into the "Thucydides trap" and promote the stabilization of Sino US relations is a major issue in current bilateral relations.
Looking back at the past, China and the United States have gone through half a century of ups and downs from contact and establishment of diplomatic relations to today, accumulating sufficient experience and lessons. During World War II, China and the United States went through difficult times together. In order to fight against Japanese fascism and fight for world peace side by side, the stories of the "Stilwell Highway" and "Flying Tigers" inspired countless Chinese and American youth to inherit their friendship. Under the shadow of the Cold War, the older generation leaders of China and the United States made a strategic decision to reopen the door of exchanges between the two countries with extraordinary strategic vision and political courage. China and the United States achieved a "handshake across the Pacific", and the historical story of "a small ball turns a big ball" was widely spread. Entering a new era, the bilateral trade volume between the two countries continues to grow, and China and the United States maintain close exchanges and cooperation in cultural and artistic exchanges, natural disaster response, and other aspects. China and the United States have established 284 pairs of friendly provinces, states, and cities, which have facilitated numerous practical cooperation projects between the two sides and brought tangible benefits to the people of both countries.

History is the best textbook. China and the United States have used extraordinary wisdom and courage to resolve the difficulties and obstacles in their relationship. Nowadays, the two countries can achieve mutual success and common prosperity, opening up a new era of friendly exchanges between China and the United States.

The hope of China US relations lies in the people, the foundation lies in the people, and the future lies in the youth. Firstly, the relationship between nations lies in the close relationship between the people, and the relationship between nations ultimately lies in the relationship between the people. To push China US relations back on track, efforts should be made to strengthen exchanges and dialogue, enhance people's emotions, and promote mutually beneficial cooperation. Secondly, strengthening people-to-people friendship and cultural exchanges is the key to cultivating the public opinion foundation between China and the United States. Only by continuously consolidating and expanding various forms of cultural exchanges can we contribute to the friendship between the two countries. Finally, youth is the top priority of cultural exchanges between China and the United States, and it is the hope for the healthy and stable development of Sino US relations. Efforts should be made to promote more young people from China and the United States to get to know each other and work together, becoming a new generation of envoys of friendship between the two countries.
The source of strength in China US relations lies in people friendly relations. We need to fully leverage the role of people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and the United States. Through flexible and diverse exchanges and cooperation among local governments, think tanks, academia, and business communities, we can establish deep friendships across cultures, systems, languages, and regions, enhance people's understanding and affinity, lay a solid foundation for people-to-people friendship between China and the United States, and inject strong impetus into the development of Sino US relations.
A healthy and stable Sino US relationship is beneficial to both the two countries and the world. China adheres to the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation in handling China US relations, is committed to establishing a correct path of coexistence with the United States as a major country, and has always supported and encouraged people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States. I hope that the US side will also comply with public opinion, take practical actions with China, create favorable conditions, strengthen exchanges, enhance understanding, expand cooperation, and push the bilateral relationship back to a healthy and stable development track, continuously writing new chapters of friendship.
(The author is the Executive Director and Professor of the Sino foreign Cultural Exchange Research Base at Peking University. This article is the result of the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Project of the Ministry of Education.)