Officials, diplomats highlight need to continue cross-cultural exchanges

Friends of Kuliang, their family members and local residents pose for photographs in Kuliang, Fuzhou, Fujian province, over the past century. (PHOTO / CHINA DAILY BY THE KULIANG ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE)

Elyn MacInnis, 72, a cultural expert from the United States who worked and lived in China for 30 years, impressed many Chinese students in the 1990s, when she taught English with an engaging smile on a popular show aired by state broadcaster China Central Television.

She and others in the US who advocate Sino-US friendship have recently been busy trying to encourage the younger generation to further this bilateral amity.

They feel it is vital to take such action for three reasons: the advocates are growing older, there are only a limited number of direct passenger flights between China and the US, and unfamiliarity and misunderstandings have arisen.

Members of this group are known as the Friends of Kuliang. From the 1880s onward, their ancestors, who included doctors, technicians, missionaries and traders, lived in Kuliang, a summer retreat in the suburbs of Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province, alongside thousands of expatriates from other nations.

MacInnis and her husband Peter's bonds with China date to her father-in-law Donald MacInnis, a member of the Flying Tigers — a group of US volunteer fighter pilots who helped Chinese fight the Japanese invasion during World War II.

President Xi Jinping recently sent a written message to a forum in Fuzhou that featured a reunion for the Friends of Kuliang with their Chinese friends. He referred to Donald Mac-Innis' love of China, praised the group members, and encouraged them to further build two-way friendship.

Speaking at the reunion on June 28, Elyn MacInnis said, "The future, our future, our friendship and cooperation is made of many small things that happen each day, and with the Kuliang spirit of peace, friendship, and love, with sensitivity and respect, small actions can build a better future."

Before she finished her speech, she gave the floor to her younger daughter Charlotte, who is the senior director of China Programs at Arizona International, a section of the University of Arizona.

Like her mother, Charlotte MacInnis is no stranger to numerous Chinese television viewers who are now in their 30s or 40s.

Katy Barber, granddaughter of Priscilla Gill, who is a Friend of Kuliang, attends a forum in the retreat with local resident Guo Lianhui on June 28. (HU MEIDONG / CHINA DAILY)

She first visited China in childhood from 1988-95, staying in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, before she and her elder sister Mika began performing on popular variety shows on networks such as China Central Television as guest hosts introducing Western culture.

In China, the sisters are known as Ai Zhong and Ai Hua. Combining the two names produces "Ai Zhonghua", which translates as "to love China".

Elyn MacInnis told the reunion audience: "I'd just like to say one thing. You ask if it (the friendship) is passed down from generation to generation. I want to introduce you to my daughter. I have two daughters, one is Ai Zhong, and this is Ai Hua. You know what that means," she said with a knowing wink and a smile.

Those advocating China-US friendship such as Elyn MacInnis believe it is important to engage more young people in this cause before it is too late.

Mutual visits between the world's two largest economies declined significantly at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and have since been affected by lingering political tension.

Despite these challenges, Kuliang has become a major venue for rekindling friendship through public diplomacy.

In 1992, Xi, then secretary of the Fuzhou Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, learned about Kuliang and invited Elizabeth Gardner, widow of Milton Gardner, who lived in Kuliang as a child between 1901 and 1911, to visit China.

When Xi was visiting the US as Chinese vice-president in 2012, he told the story of Kuliang at a welcoming luncheon held by US friendly groups, and the story resonated with people from all walks of life in the two countries.

Last month, some of the Friends of Kuliang, including Elyn MacInnis, were invited to revisit the retreat to check out time-tested facilities such as a post office, international welfare society, tennis courts and swimming pools — living proof of a community where locals and foreigners met challenges in daily life together and lived in harmony.

"It took me seven years of research in the US to find all the stories we now have that span the history of Kuliang from 1886 to 1949. We never expected to find so many moving and heartwarming stories of the people here," Elyn MacInnis said.

"I realize that without this foundation of sensitivity and respect, two different cultures cannot really have genuine peace, friendship and love."

A tree is planted by delegates attending the forum. (HU MEIDONG / CHINA DAILY)

Bonds renewed

At a symposium on June 28 in Kuliang with relatives of their Chinese friends, and associates and researchers, Elyn MacInnis and Gordon Trimble, another Friend of Kuliang, received certificates as Honorary Fuzhou Citizens from Lin Baojin, secretary of the Communist Party of China Fuzhou Municipal Committee.

Upon receiving her certificate, MacInnis shared her joy by showing it to her daughter Charlotte, who was seated among the audience.

Lin said the certificates bore a date in January 2020, as due to the pandemic, it had not been possible to present them for more than three years.

"The Friends of Kuliang from America have continued the history of the Kuliang story, deepened the friendship, and enhanced exchanges between both sides," he added.

"Chinese people always say that relatives and friends can get closer when they have more exchanges."

Priscilla Gill, another Friend of Kuliang, who is now 87, was joined on the trip to Fuzhou by her granddaughter, Katy Barber.

Gill recalled her childhood days in Kuliang as the pair strolled through old streets and alleyways.

"What has happened in China is just amazing, as it's such a wonderful, strong country. When I was here as a girl, we went to Kuliang every summer and had lots of friends. The place seemed like paradise to me," Gill said.

She was born in Fuzhou in 1936, and her father Harold Brewster was a well-respected surgeon and former president of Fuzhou Union Medical College Hospital.

"I was very emotional when we were invited back again, because I was so happy to bring my granddaughter with me to feel the great love for China and for the Chinese people," Gill said.

"My grandparents worked here, my father was born here, and I was born here," she said.

Her granddaughter said: "The food has been amazing, and everybody has been so kind. I've had a wonderful experience. I'd like to come back with my brother and his children.

"I think storytelling is really important. But I also think that coming here has solidified these stories for me. I know they will stay in my thoughts and heart forever, and I will continue to pass them on."

Elyn MacInnis receives her certificate as an Honorary Fuzhou Citizen from Lin Baojin, secretary of the Communist Party of China Fuzhou Municipal Committee. (HU MEIDONG / CHINA DAILY)

Meeting challenges

At reunion events for the Friends of Kuliang and their Chinese friends, officials and diplomats from both countries highlighted the need to continue cross-cultural exchanges despite challenges and difficulties.

Last year marked the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations being established between China and the US.

Annual trade between the two nations has grown from $12.88 million in 1972 to nearly $760 billion last year, and two-way investment has risen from almost zero to more than $240 billion during the same period.

Guo Shaochun, Chinese consul general in Los Angeles, told local media recently there are about 3,000 Chinese companies in the US, with 300 of them publicly listed, while more than 70,000 US companies have invested in China, and nearly 90 percent of their operations in China are profitable.

Speaking to the Friends of Kuliang, Lin Songtian, president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, said the fact that Chinese and American people could live together in harmony by showing each other mutual respect made a strong impression on him.

A veteran diplomat who worked in Fuzhou for years, Lin told members of the group that more than 100 years ago, their forefathers came all the way to China — to Fuzhou — to help local people improve their livelihoods and develop education.

"Locals treated the strange Westerners as friends and guests, drew spring water from the same well, and provided support for them here without considering them as intruders who posed a threat to their own security," he said.

"These stories have strengthened our belief that as long as we respect each other, extend a helping hand to each other in times of need, and cherish friendship, we can live in peace, harmony and coexistence, carry friendship forward and build a beautiful future despite our many differences in terms of our looks, languages, cultural values, religious beliefs and political systems."

Lisa Heller, US consul-general in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, said: "As the Kuliang story reminds the US, countless American and Chinese people have crossed the ocean to live and work in each other's countries. China was not a foreign land. It was home to these Americans.

"Friendship between the US and China is not something to be taken for granted. It is up to all of us to nurture that friendship and pass it on to our children," she said, adding that the average American and Chinese citizen benefits from stable and sustained relations.

On June 19, when meeting with visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Beijing, President Xi said, "China always hopes to see a sound and steady China-US relationship." He added that China believes the two countries "can overcome various difficulties and find the right way to get along based on mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation."

Xie Feng, Chinese ambassador to the US, said the two nations should "build on their historical legacy of profound origins", lay a solid foundation for public opinion toward each other, and conform to the common expectations of the world.

In a prerecorded video speech for the Friends of Kuliang reunion, Xie said both sides should use goodwill and rationality to further advance China-US exchanges and cooperation, let dialogue eliminate confrontation, "building bridges" replace "building walls", and for cooperation to transcend competition.

Plans for future

Speaking to China Daily, US university faculty members and students seeking further exchanges with China called for more progress in facilitating air travel between the two countries.

At State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang's meeting with Blinken last month, China and the US agreed to discuss increasing passenger flights, and welcomed more students and businesspeople to each other's countries.

Charlotte MacInnis, from the University of Arizona, said the institution is experiencing significant interest in its collaborative programs with China, and she hopes air travel between the two countries can become easier.

"I want to be able to return to China a lot more than I've been able to in the past. Air tickets are so expensive right now, and it's very difficult to afford them," she said.

Buescher Devan Jordan Donald, a second-grade graduate student from Peking University's School of International Studies, said he has met countless foreign students at the university, but has not seen many from the US at the institution.

"I think this is partly due to the higher cost of flights to China, as well as the flight times," he said.

"I feel that once air ticket prices fall, and there are more flights between both countries, there will be a lot more American students in China, especially at Beida (Peking University)."

He said the biggest impressions he has gained from studying in China are the friendly people and the passion to help foreign students do well and learn the language and culture of China.

"It can be quite difficult to learn Mandarin. However, all the Chinese faculty members, the professors and Chinese students have been warm and willing to help foreign students learn and really grasp the local culture," he added.

Lauren Koop, a US student at Peking University's School of International Studies, said, "As an American student at this university, I graciously accept President Xi's invitation to explore China and consider the country as a second home.

"Amity and curiosity will preserve US-China relations. I hope to be part of the next generation of young Americans and Chinese who preserve the historical bonds between our two countries through friendship, goodwill and mutual respect."

Elyn MacInnis, the cultural expert, suggested that Kuliang should possibly be visited this summer by children from countries across the world.

Yang Jie and Feng Shiying in Fuzhou contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn