Peng Liyuan attends Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. youth friendship event

Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, on Thursday attended the Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. youth friendship event and delivered a speech at the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.

Peng also watched a video about the Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. Youth Choir Festival. Elyn MacInnis, founder of Friends of Kuliang, and Luca Berrone, Xi's friend from Iowa, shared their stories of Kuliang, as well as their experiences of China-U.S. people-to-people exchange and local cooperation. They expressed their deep affection for China and their gratitude to President Xi for his concern for the youth of both countries. They also said that they will continue contributing to promoting the U.S.-China friendship.

U.S. youth representatives shared their experiences of visiting China, and said they are willing to become new-generation friendship ambassadors, carrying forward great stories of friendship between the two countries.

In her speech, Peng said that the century-old story of Kuliang and President Xi's deep friendship with his old friends in Iowa spanning over 40 years epitomize the China-U.S. friendship.

Though the two countries have different histories, cultures and languages, the Chinese and American peoples love their families and are kind, friendly, hardworking and practical, meaning they are perfectly capable of becoming good friends and partners, she said.

Over the year since President Xi proposed China's initiative to welcome 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs over a five-year period, many young people from the United States have been invited to visit China. While gaining first-hand experience of the real China, they have made new friends and written new chapters in the China-U.S. friendship, Peng said.

Noting that youth is the future of the country, as well as the future of friendship, Peng called on young people to be the inheritors of the China-U.S. friendship, and promoters of peace and amity. She also called on them to build a bridge of friendship between the two countries, and to contribute their youthful strength to a better future for both nations.

Before the event, Peng met with MacInnis and Berrone, expressing appreciation for their longtime dedication to the cause of China-U.S. friendship. She encouraged them to continue making active efforts to enhance exchange and mutual understanding between the two peoples.

Peng Liyuan attends Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. youth friendship event

Peng Liyuan attends Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. youth friendship event

Peng Liyuan attends Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. youth friendship event

Peng Liyuan attends Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. youth friendship event

Peng Liyuan attends Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. youth friendship event

Peng Liyuan attends Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. youth friendship event

Peng Liyuan attends Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. youth friendship event

Peng Liyuan attends Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. youth friendship event

Peng Liyuan attends Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. youth friendship event

Peng Liyuan attends Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. youth friendship event

Peng Liyuan attends Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. youth friendship event

Peng Liyuan attends Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. youth friendship event

Peng Liyuan attends Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. youth friendship event

Peng Liyuan attends Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. youth friendship event

Peng Liyuan attends Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. youth friendship event

U.S. stocks finished slightly higher on Monday, staging a late-session recovery as investors navigated a volatile landscape marked by a criminal probe into the Federal Reserve leadership.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 86.13 points, or 0.17 percent, to 49,590.2. The S&P 500 added 10.99 points, or 0.16 percent, to 6,977.27. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 62.56 points, or 0.26 percent, to 23,733.9. Despite the positive close, the market experienced significant intraday turbulence, with the Dow dropping nearly 500 points at its session lows.

Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in positive territory. Consumer staples and industrials led the gainers, rising 1.42 percent and 0.75 percent, respectively. Financials and energy were the primary laggards, declining 0.8 percent and 0.66 percent.

Market sentiment was initially shaken by an announcement on Sunday from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who confirmed that federal prosecutors are investigating him over the Fed's multi-billion-dollar project to renovate its headquarters. Powell characterized the probe as an attempt by the Trump administration to compromise the Fed's independence.

Further weighing on the financial sector was a proposal by U.S. President Donald Trump to cap credit card interest rates at 10 percent for one year, which triggered a sell-off in banking stocks amid concerns over restricted lending and reduced profitability. Capital One shares plummeted 6.42 percent, while Citigroup, JPMorgan and Bank of America also recorded losses.

In contrast, retail giant Walmart led the Dow's advance, climbing 3 percent following news of its upcoming inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 index. The company also announced a strategic partnership with Google's Gemini AI to enhance the digital shopping experience.

Investors are awaiting Tuesday's release of the U.S. consumer price index for December 2025. Following last week's cooling labor market data, market participants increasingly expect the Fed to maintain interest rates at their current levels during the upcoming January meeting.

U.S. stocks close higher amid criminal probe into Fed chair Powell