NYC diverse leadership marks new year
New York City’s diverse leadership gathered on Sunday at the Chinese Consulate General for its New Year Open Day in a celebration of cultural exchange.
“The outgoing 2023 is a turbulent yet transformative year,” said Chinese Acting Consul General in New York Qian Jin. “Changes of the world, of our times and of historical significance are unfolding like never before.
“Yet, the overall direction of human development and progress will not change, and the overall trend toward a shared future for the international community will not change.”
For China-US relations, Qian said it is a year of “recovery and resilience”.
“Despite the twists and turns in our relations throughout the year, the historic San Francisco summit concluded successfully (in November),” he said. “With hindsight, we can conclude that dialogue is better than confrontation, cooperation is better than decoupling, and stability is better than flip-flopping. This should be a consensus as well as the shared responsibility of the two sides.”
2024 marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the US, Qian said.
“As we gather together today to celebrate the dawning of the new year, let’s build on the positive momentum of the San Francisco summit and join hands to build a community with a shared future, featuring openness, inclusiveness, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation,” he said.
New York City Council Member Christopher Marte shared his experience of living in China.
As a curious young boy growing up in Chinatown, Marte decided to live in China and study at Zhejiang University at the age of 18.
“My experience showed me the world,” he said.
“I realized the vast beauty and the amazement that China had. It was more than I ever expected living in my tenement building as a kid in Chinatown,” he said. “But what it really taught me is that no matter the beauty of the surrounding, the most beautiful thing I learned was that the people, the Chinese people, were so welcoming and friendly.”
About 120 guests from all walks of New York attended Sunday’s celebration, including state Senator Leroy Comrie; state Assemblyman David Weprin; Winnie Greco, senior adviser to the mayor and director of Asian Affairs; Sino-American Friendship Association President Peter Zhang; and China Institute CEO George Geh.