Local govts build bonds with friendship events
Chinese regions’ cultural activities aim to attract tourists, enhance ties with US
In a move to boost tourism, local governments in China are taking steps to enhance China-US friendship and cooperation from a locality perspective.
Among them is the government of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, which has initiated a series of cultural events in the United States.
During the launch of photo exhibition Sino-American Friendship in Guangxi at the China Institute in New York on Monday, Chinese Consul General in New York Huang Ping said there was a time in history when China and the US “joined hands, fighting together for human justice”.
About 80 years ago during World War II, the Chinese were fighting against the Japanese invaders, and they were appreciative of the many US airmen who went to China and fought in the skies against the invaders, Huang said, referring to the Flying Tigers. About 260 US pilots gave their lives in China, he said.
The Flying Tigers was a US volunteer air squadron based in Guilin, Guangxi, during the initial years of the war.
Hosted by the Guangxi People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the exhibition’s launch drew nearly 200 attendees, including representatives from the New York state and city government, as well as relatives of the Flying Tigers.
“We need to remember, we need to carry on the spirit the Flying Tigers … left as a legacy,” Huang said.
Guangxi Vice-Chairman Liao Pinhu said the landscapes of Guangxi and the US have a close connection, and Guilin is a place frequented by many foreign dignitaries, including those from the US.
“The Flying Tigers fought side by side with the Chinese people in Guangxi to resist the invasion of the Japanese fascists. Hence, the people of Guangxi are friendly to the American people,” Liao said.
Last year, with assistance from the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, Guangxi and the US signed and launched the Flying Tigers Friendship Schools and Youth Leadership Program, a new platform for civil friendship and cooperation, Liao said.
“Guangxi hopes to extend the traditional friendship with the American people, join hands for development and cooperation, and jointly write a new chapter of exchanges and cooperation between China and the US.”
Guangxi is home to 12 ethnic groups, including the Zhuang, Han, Yao and Miao. The exhibition launch featured a display that showcased such ethnic diversity, with people wearing traditional attire from their own groups.
“At this point, the subnational relationship is one that has the strongest legs and the most positive aspects,” Jan Berris, vice-president of the National Committee on United States-China Relations, said.
“I think it’s up to all of us in this room to do whatever we can to help bring back not the life-ordeath aspect of the relationship, but the focus on the importance of people-to-people relationships, getting to know one another and realizing that we really have no choice.”
Berris, who accompanied the Chinese table tennis team on its tour of the US in 1972 during the days of Ping-Pong Diplomacy, also suggested traveling to Guilin as it stood out as her most cherished journey, not only because of the familial bonds it strengthened, but also for the region’s hospitality and beauty.