Orchestra's 1973 trip resonates after summit

After the summit between President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden outside San Francisco, the role of people in China-US relations is again being seen across the Pacific.

The Philadelphia Orchestra's trip to China, of course was timed, said Matias Tarnopolsky, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Orchestra. It was not only timed with the 50th anniversary of the orchestra's 1973 visit to China, but also timed with the San Francisco summit, he said.

"And I think that timing speaks for itself," Tarnopolsky said at a news conference held at the Chinese Consulate General in New York on Thursday.

The future of China-US relations, said Tarnopolsky, quoting President Xi, is created by the peoples of the two nations. "There is nothing more powerful than sharing a moment in the concert hall together. Music is a very equalizing force that brings people together," he told reporters through a video.

In 1973, invited by then-US president Richard Nixon, the Philadelphia Orchestra became the first American orchestra to visit the People's Republic of China. Fifty years later, they performed in Beijing with the China National Symphony Orchestra and international vocalists.

"If the relationship between our countries is built on people-to-people exchange, the more we can do to bring people together — either making music or enjoying music — the more we feel that whatever small part of the Philadelphia Orchestra can play is very important," Tarnopolsky said.

"I am optimistic about the future of US-China relations, mainly because the people get along well," Nicholas Platt, president emeritus of the Asia Society, who had accompanied Nixon during his historic visit to China in 1972, said at the news conference via a video call.

"I am very happy that President Xi Jinping and our president are talking to each other," said Platt. "I think it's very important that we talk to each other because of the differences between us.

And because together we can work on the big problems that face the world. And so I'm encouraged."

"I don't believe that everything is going to be solved quickly, but the restoration of communications at the very top is an encouraging thought," said Platt.

Platt was on hand to coordinate the orchestra's 1973 visit to China. "I thought it was very exciting because we had a lot of opportunity to meet with Chinese people, and the delegations got along very well," said Platt.

"I just don't see how decoupling can work. I don't see how decoupling is going to be the policy of either country. And I think that over time, we will be able to resolve most of our difference," he said. "I don't think it'll always or maybe even ever be totally smooth because countries that are our size that have as many different relationships, have many different issues between us, we just have to keep working on them. And we will."

"I am basically cautiously optimistic about the future. And I hope that 50 years from now I'll be proven to be right," he added.

Jeffrey Greene, chairman of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, recently visited China with veterans and descendants of the American Volunteer Group, better known for its moniker "Flying Tigers", who helped the Chinese fight Japanese invaders during World War II.

"I can tell you from our trip last week, President Xi's words were proven that China never forgets its old friends," Greene told reporters.