Youth choir festival set to bolster Sino-US friendship

Imoan Tifaga, a student and choir member from Lincoln High School in Tacoma, a city in the US state of Washington, triggered cheers and a huge round of applause from fellow teenagers on Thursday when he addressed the opening of the Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-US Youth Choir Festival in Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province.

The major musical event involving young people from the world's two largest economies has brought together around 30 choirs and more than 1,000 youths from China and the United States. The US participants are from several states, including Utah, Washington, California and Illinois.

"It is through music that we will continue to bridge the gaps in our cultures, providing youths the opportunities to sing together, which ultimately brings peace in times of despair," Tifaga said.

On Jan 1, President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, replied to a New Year greeting card from teachers and students at Tifaga's school, extending their best wishes for the new year.

"While in China, we are thrilled to be singing with choral groups from around the country," Tifaga said. "We are honored to be brought here to continue the beauty of love, unity and diversity through the sounds of music."

Fuzhou and Beijing are providing venues for the choir festival, which runs from Wednesday to July 18.

The festival is part of an initiative for inviting 50,000 young people from the US to China for exchange and study programs over a five-year span. The initiative was announced by Xi during his visit to the US in 2023.

At the festival's opening, Zhang Qingwei, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, noted Xi's personal push for the constantly developing story of China-US friendship.

Zhang called on youths from both nations to "take cultural exchanges as a bridge" and "jointly write a new chapter for China-US subnational friendship".

Xie Feng, Chinese ambassador to the US, noted that in recent years, young people have drawn closer to each other through music, and he cited the example of the One Voice Children's Choir from the US going viral on the internet with a video of the choir singing a Chinese song at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing in January.

"The internet has helped us break out of the echo chamber. … More and more young Americans have come to see a cool China," Xie said in a prerecorded video speech.

"Facts have proved that the headwinds of geopolitics cannot stop our people from reaching out to each other," he added.

Mark Hubbard, head of Mark Hubbard and The Voices, a choir from Chicago, Illinois, said the trip to China has brought "so much joy", and the choir has prepared four songs for the visit, including We Are the World.

What his choir members have talked about most in China is the beautiful scenery, architecture, people's hospitality and the food, he said. "The difference is that, now that I'm here, I have a different appreciation for the culture."

"My hope is that we will leave with a better understanding of the culture and unite both the United States and China," Hubbard added.

Yang Wanming, president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, noted that the ongoing choir festival marks the largest thematic youth exchange event since the establishment of China-US diplomatic ties in 1979.

He compared cultural exchanges to arranging different voices in choral music. "Only by listening to each other, coordinating and resonating with each other, can we appreciate one another's beauty and share beauty together," he added.

Hu Wangyihan, a student and choir member at the Affiliated High School of Fuzhou Institute of Education, said his choir has recently been fully absorbed in preparations for performing at the festival.

"Some members wrote the lyrics on the back of their hands," he said. "When we had our first rehearsal, the sunlight happened to pass through the hall's window. Then I suddenly realized: The encounter of different voices can create a miracle greater than a rainbow!"

Contact the writers at zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn