By He Yin, People’s Daily
The 2025 Kuliang Forum, themed “Echoes of History,” was recently held in New York.
In this special year marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, representatives from various sectors of China and the United States came together to commemorate the historical period when the two nations stood together in the fight for world peace.
Drawing on the legacy of Kuliang — an enduring symbol of China-U.S. people-to-people friendship — participants reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening mutual understanding and friendship.
The Kuliang story, personally promoted by Chinese President Xi Jinping, exemplifies the longstanding bond between the Chinese and American peoples. Xi has previously sent congratulatory letters to “Bond with Kuliang: 2023 China-U.S. People-to-People Friendship Forum” and to “Bond with Kuliang: 2024 China-U.S. Youth Festival,” underscoring the story’s continued relevance in today’s bilateral relations.
In recent years, “Kuliang Friends” and other supporters of China-U.S. friendship have actively preserved and promoted Kuliang’s legacy. Initiatives such as root-seeking visits and cultural exchanges, including “Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. Youth Choir Festival,” have deepened mutual understanding and friendly exchanges between the two peoples.
The ever-growing and enduring Kuliang story shows that despite differences in history, culture, social systems, and development paths, the Chinese and American peoples share a common aspiration for friendship. This year, China held grand commemorative events marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, inviting descendants of American Flying Tigers members to attend ceremonies atop Tian’anmen Gate.
At the seventh China-U.S. Sister Cities Conference, participants discussed “Closer Cooperation for a Sustainable Future.” During “Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. Youth Choir Festival,” more than 1,000 young singers from both countries performed in celebration of friendship.
These acts of goodwill, though seemingly modest, accumulate to bridge the Pacific, turning a geographical divide into a conduit for cooperation. 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.
In July this year, Xi replied to teachers and students of the U.S. youth pickleball cultural exchange delegation from Montgomery County, Maryland, who visited China under the initiative of inviting 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs in a five-year span.
Xi congratulated the delegation on its successful visit to China, expressing his hope that the delegation members will become a new generation of ambassadors for friendship between the two countries and make greater contributions to enhancing friendship between the two peoples.
Since the launch of the initiative of inviting 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs in a five-year span, participation has been enthusiastic, demonstrating the initiative’s strong appeal and profound influence. A wide range of activities under the initiative, including maker competitions, academic dialogues, “future diplomats” summer camps, choir and music festivals, and pickleball friendship matches, have deepened mutual understanding between Chinese and American youth. A recent poll in the United States indicates a steady improvement in American public perceptions of China, with younger generations increasingly serving as a driving force for bilateral friendship.
To write new chapters of the Kuliang story and deepen people-to-people affinity, China and the United States must work together to build platforms and broaden channels for exchanges.
Last month, Xi and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump held a successful meeting in Busan, South Korea, providing strategic guidance and fresh momentum for the steady development of bilateral relations at a critical moment. The two presidents reached important consensus on advancing practical cooperation across various fields, including expanding people-to-people exchanges.
Since then, the China-U.S. relationship has generally maintained a steady and positive trajectory, and this is welcomed by the two countries and the broader international community. China welcomes more Americans to visit and experience a real, multidimensional, and comprehensive China. It is hoped that the U.S. side will work with China in the same direction and take active steps to facilitate people-to-people exchanges, thereby strengthening bilateral bonds and mutual understanding.
The achievements in China-U.S. relations are primarily attributable to the collective efforts of the people of the two countries, and the continued development of this relationship will rely even more on their support. Both sides should take the Kuliang bond as a link, people-to-people exchanges as a bridge, and youth friendship as a source of strength, working together to continue writing new chapters of China-U.S. friendship and contributing to the sound and steady growth of China-U.S. relations.
