Follow Xi | 'The hope of the China-U.S. relationship lies in the people'

"Though geographically far apart, our peoples boast a long history of friendly exchanges," Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the Welcoming Dinner hosted by Local Governments and Friendly Organizations in the United States on Sep. 22, 2015.

Over the years, Xi has attached great importance to and personally promoted people-to-people exchanges between China and the U.S., sharing stories of friendship between the two peoples on many occasions.

In 1985, Xi, then Party chief of Zhengding county in north China's Hebei Province, led a delegation to Iowa, known as the "granary and breadbasket of America," to study agriculture and animal husbandry. A sincere friendship began there, spanning four decades and growing stronger with time.

A century ago, Kuliang in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province became a place where people from China and the U.S. forged a warm bond of friendship and mutual understanding. Over the years, the "Kuliang Friends" have continued to carry this friendship across borders.

During World War II, members of the American Flying Tigers traveled across the ocean to fight alongside the Chinese people. Today, this precious historical memory continues to be cherished and passed down by their descendants.

In 1971, the U.S. table tennis team visited Beijing, becoming the first delegation of Americans to visit China in decades. It gave rise to the famous phrase "a little ball moves the big ball." Ping-Pong Diplomacy broke the ice between two nations and reopened a door that would go on to reshape the world.

One moving story after another has borne witness to the enduring friendship between the Chinese and American people.

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.