People-to-people exchanges between China and the United States are serving as a vital force in nurturing mutual understanding, building trust, and fostering hope for a more cooperative future between the two nations, a China Media Group commentary said on Tuesday.
An edited English version of the commentary is as follows:
An emotional reunion between a Chinese model worker and an American teacher unfolded at the Ordos Ejin Horo Airport in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Sunday.
After more than 20 years, Ronald Sakolsky, a retired American teacher who contributed to China's desertification control efforts, embraced tightly his friend Yin Yuzhen, a Chinese model worker who has been planting trees in the Maowusu sandy land for four decades.
This touching moment, capturing two decades of friendship, has quickly gone viral online. Netizens from both countries flooded social media with messages including "they are reaching out to each other with passion and gratitude" and "the world needs more stories about cooperation and shared future."
Their story began in 1999, when Sakolsky taught English at a school in central China's Henan Province under a teachers' exchange program between the two countries.
After watching a television news report featuring Yin's tireless work, he was deeply moved and raised 5,000 U.S. dollars to help Yin and her husband in their afforestation efforts against desertification.
The saplings bought and planted with that donation have since grown into a forest of more than 50,000 towering trees.
In May this year, Yin took to the internet in search of the American friend who had offered the donation decades ago, and their online reunion, a moment that moved many, soon followed.
The relationship between countries is rooted in people-to-people exchanges and there are countless touching stories.
The Flying Tigers, officially known as the American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force, was formed in 1941 by U.S. General Claire Lee Chennault to help China in its fight against invading Japanese forces.
In 1971, a visit by U.S. table tennis players to China helped ease the deep political estrangement between the two countries, proving that even frozen relations could be softened through people-to-people exchanges.
Kuliang, or "Guling" in mandarin, a hillside on the outskirts of Fuzhou in east China's Fujian Province, has stood for a century as a quiet yet powerful witness to the enduring friendship between the Chinese and American people.
Despite different cultures, systems, and development paths, the friendship among the peoples has remained a resilient force driving China-U.S. ties forward.
Now, friendly exchanges between the peoples of China and the United States are becoming more frequent.
In early 2025, RedNote, known as Xiaohongshu in China, saw a sudden surge in popularity among American netizens, who actively exchanged ideas and stories with Chinese netizens.
In May 2026, the initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2023 to invite 50,000 young Americans to China on exchange and study programs in the following five years achieved its goals two and a half years ahead of schedule.
More and more international tourists are flocking to China to capture the vitality and diversity of "China Travel." Tesla CEO Elon Musk praised China and strongly recommended people to visit the country, in a social media post this month that was echoed by his mother Maye Musk.
"Each city has its own charm with different cultural sites to see. Buildings and streets are clean and in good repair. Also, people are polite, hard-working, and respectful," she wrote, adding that she feels safe in China. The foundation of China-U.S. relations was laid by the peoples. The embrace between Yin and Sakolsky injects warmth into bilateral relations. This again proves that people-to-people exchanges are the wellspring of sustainable development between China and the United States and developing friendly cooperation is where public opinion trends.
In recent years, Americans' views of China have grown more positive. "Today, 27 percent of Americans having a positive opinion of China. That has risen 6 percentage points since last year and nearly doubled since 2023," according to a latest survey by the Pew Research Center, which was released in April.
A report from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs in August indicates that "majorities of Gen Zers (59 percent) and Millennials (58 percent), compared to half of Boomers and Gen Xers (48 percent each), favor a policy of friendly cooperation and engagement with China."
In May, the leaders of China and the United States met in Beijing and agreed to build a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability, offering a strategic direction for bilateral relations over the coming years.
The stories of China-U.S. relations are written by the peoples.
On Monday, Yin and Sakolsky returned to the Maowusu sandy land and planted three trees symbolizing friendship across borders and ages.
People look forward to more touching stories like these, hoping the friendship between Chinese and Americans will continuously nurture mutual understanding and trust, so that the forest of friendship between the two nations will grow lush and flourishing.
People-to-people exchanges cultivate hope in China-US relations: commentary
