China, U.S. strengthen tourism cooperation to turn "San Francisco vision" into reality

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message to the 14th China-U.S. Tourism Leadership Summit on May 22.

It is hoped that all walks of life in the two countries will take this summit as an opportunity to have in-depth exchanges, build consensus, and take active actions to promote personnel exchanges through tourism cooperation, continue China-U.S. friendship with cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and help the San Francisco vision turn into reality, Xi said.

Guests experience Chinese tea culture and the charm of China's Hubei province at the "Tea for Harmony: Yaji Cultural Salon" in Washington, co-hosted by the Chinese Embassy in the United States, the Hubei Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism and Washington-based Museum of Chinese in America, May 21. (People's Daily/Li Zhiwei)

Xi's message fully demonstrated the importance he attaches to China-U.S. relations, conveyed his expectation to deepen China-U.S. tourism cooperation, and expounded on the significance of tourism cooperation in promoting stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations, charting the course for the two countries to strengthen tourism cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.

For any great cause to succeed, it must take root in the people, gain strength from the people, and be accomplished by the people. Growing China-U.S. friendship is such a great cause.

Xi has repeatedly emphasized the significance of strengthening non-governmental friendship and people-to-people exchanges in developing bilateral relations between China and the United States. He has interacted with people from all walks of life in the U.S. for multiple times, aiming to foster a new chapter in non-governmental friendship between the two peoples.

Last November, Xi and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden met with each other in San Francisco and laid out a future-oriented "San Francisco vision." Xi proposed five pillars for China-U.S. relations, namely, jointly developing a right perception, jointly managing disagreements effectively, jointly advancing mutually beneficial cooperation, jointly shouldering responsibilities as major countries, and jointly promoting people-to-people exchanges, which should serve as the underpinning for the mansion of China-U.S relations.

Tourism is an important bridge for exchanges and mutual understanding between the people of China and the U.S.

China and the U.S. are both proud of their splendid culture and beautiful landscape and people from both countries are keenly interested in learning more about each other and cementing their friendship.

A delegation from Muscatine High School in the United States went on a study tour to China in April 2024. Photo shows a student of the delegation taking photos in the Yuyuan Garden, Shanghai. (People's Daily Online/Wang Chu)

For some time, teams from both China and the U.S. have been working to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state in San Francisco. China-U.S. relations have been generally stabilized, and bilateral dialogue, cooperation and positive aspects in various fields have increased.

A number of relevant projects have been launched, including an initiative of inviting 50,000 young Americans to China on exchange and study programs in the next five years. The increased exchanges between the Chinese and American societies have deepened mutual understanding between the two peoples and brought them closer to each other.

China and the U.S. are two major countries with different histories, cultures, social systems and development paths. Strengthening dialogue and communication between the two sides, promoting friendly exchanges between the two peoples from all walks of life, and building more bridges of mutual understanding will help eliminate unnecessary misunderstandings and biases.

Expanding tourism cooperation between China and the U.S. will contribute to the exchanges and cooperation between the two peoples, and build consensus for the stable, healthy, and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations.

As Xi said in the message, the foundation of China-U.S. relations is laid by the people, the door of China-U.S. relations is opened by the people, the stories of China-U.S. relations are written by the people, and the future of China-U.S. relations will be jointly created by the people of the two countries.

No matter how the global landscape evolves, the historical trend of peaceful coexistence between China and the U.S. will not change. The ultimate wish of the two peoples for exchanges and cooperation will not change. The expectations of the whole world for a steadily growing China-U.S. relationship will not change.

Students of a delegation from Muscatine High School visiting China pose for a picture in the Bund, Shanghai, April 23, 2024. (People's Daily Online/Wang Chu)

China and the U.S. should work to meet the expectations of the two peoples and the world, and take concrete measures to promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges, including tourism cooperation. Both countries should build more bridges and pave more roads for people-to-people exchanges.

China warmly welcomes tourists from all over the world, including American tourists, and will strive to make it easier for foreigners to travel, work and live in China.

China is willing to work together with the U.S. to introduce more measures that facilitate personnel and cultural exchanges.

China also hopes that the U.S. will work in the same direction, increase direct flights between the two countries, promptly adjust advisory concerning travel to China, and facilitate visa applications for Chinese citizens visiting the U.S., in order to create better conditions for mutual visits between the two countries' tourists.

It is hoped that that the two peoples will make more visits, contacts and exchanges and write new stories of friendship in the new era.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the United States. The two countries should learn lessons from history, cherish peace, value stability, and uphold credibility, consolidate the foundation and tap into the potential of people-to-people friendship, and turn the "San Francisco vision" into reality, so as to truly stabilize, improve and move forward China-U.S. relationship and inject more stability into the world.