Remarks by Chinese Consul General in New York Chen Li at 'Our Shared Expectations: Conversation on China-US Relations'

Distinguished Guests,
Dear Friends,

Good afternoon.

Today's theme, "Our Shared Expectations", is a broad one. Let me begin with a small story.

In 1999, an American named Ronald Sakolsky, who was teaching English in China, came across a story about Ms. Yin Yuzhen, a farmer fighting desertification in the Maowusu Desert.

Back then, sand was everywhere in the Maowusu Desert. Locals even had a saying: "for every bowl of rice, there was half bowl of sand." Yin had no machines, only shovels and shoulder poles, and trees were notoriously difficult to keep alive, but she kept planting, driven by one simple conviction: she would rather wear herself out planting trees than let the desert defeat her.

Sakolsky was deeply moved. He spent more than two months raising 5,000 dollars and send it to Yin whom he had never met. At the time, Yin made only 250 dollars a year. Yet instead of using the money to transform her own life, she used it to buy 50,000 tree seedlings.

Twenty-seven years later, the sands have retreated and a sea of green has emerged. Yin had long hoped Sakolsky could return and see it for himself. This August, after millions of people online helped reconnect them, he finally made it back. When they met, they were both visibly moved before either of them said a word.

Why is this story worth talking about today? I found the answer in a remarkably simple exchange between them.

Sakolsky said, "We are people first, before we are American or Chinese." He spoke English, and Yin spoke a local dialect. They could hardly communicate, yet that didn't stop them from understanding each other. When asked why he helped, Sakolsky said, "No special reason. I just wanted to help."

Those words capture the most instinctive kindness between people, and also one of the deepest strength in China-U.S. Relations.

China and the U.S. differ in many ways. But before nationality, political systems or other labels, we are all human beings. People in both countries want stable lives and fulfilling careers. They want good education for their children and a better future for their families. They want their countries to prosper and the world to remain at peace. The root of China-U.S. relations is in the hearts of our people. When the root is deep, our relationship can survive any storm.

What is planted in people's hearts can grow with time. Yin said, "If you keep going, if one tree can survive, then a hundred can survive." Five thousand dollars can buy seedlings, but it cannot buy a forest. What turned desert into green land was persistence.

President Xi Jinping once noted that "it is the convergence of many streams of goodwill and friendship that has created a strong current surging across the vast Pacific Ocean." From Ping-Pong Diplomacy to generations of friendship in Kuliang, acts of goodwill, especially in difficult times, have always been a precious asset in China-U.S. relations.

Such sincerity and perseverance are much like the forest in the Maowusu Desert. They bear witness to two peoples reaching toward each other, not to overpower one another, but to nourish one another and grow together.

China-U.S. relations would not have come this far without the goodwill and perseverance of countless ordinary people. Nor could they have done so without strategic decisions by the leaders of both countries at critical moments to keep the relationship on course.

In May this year, President Xi and President Trump have agreed on a new vision of building a constructive relationship of strategic stability between the two countries. It has been proven that improving and developing China-U.S. relations, coexisting peacefully on the basis of mutual respect, and then achieving win-win cooperation serve the fundamental interests of the two peoples and the world.

There was one small detail in the story between Yin and Sakolsky that particularly caught my attention. To communicate more easily, Yin started learning English. Besides words such as "bird" and "tree," the ones that are close to her life in the desert, she kept practicing one word again and again: "More, more." What she meant was simple: when Sakolsky came to her home, she wanted him to eat more.

Human feelings are universal. We need more stories like those of Yin and Sakolsky. And we need more people to tell these stories, so that the genuine exchanges and friendships between the Chinese and American peoples can be seen and heard.

And that is our shared expectation for China-U.S. Relations.