China Institute of America celebrates its centennial

China Institute of America marked its centennial with a gala in New York on Thursday, bringing together political families, business leaders, international artists, and academics with longstanding ties to US-China exchanges.

Founded in 1926, China Institute is the oldest nonprofit organization in the United States focused on cultural and educational exchanges between China and the US. The institute was co-founded by American educators John Dewey and Paul Monroe, along with Chinese scholars Hu Shih and Kuo Ping-wen.

Over the past century, the organization has supported a range of exchange programs and cultural initiatives, including sponsoring Mei Lanfang's North American tour and Broadway performances in New York, as well as helping secure scholarship aid for Chinese students studying in the US in 1938.

The institute now hosts public discussions on US-China education, art, innovation, and business exchanges, organizes exhibitions of Chinese art, and offers Chinese language and cultural programs. It recently opened a culinary center focused on Chinese cuisine and food culture.

This year's gala honored individuals and families recognized for their contributions to US-China relations and cross-cultural exchange, including the Nixon family, Bush family and Rockefeller family; former Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa; entrepreneur and philanthropist Ming Hsieh and Eva Hsieh; and professors Li Kai and Cui Yi.

"This centennial is not only a celebration of 100 years of history — it is a declaration of our commitment to the next 100," Yue-Sai Kan, co-chair of China Institute of America, said. "We are honored to gather tonight with extraordinary individuals and families who have given so much to the cause of understanding between our two nations."

Xie Feng, China's top envoy to the US, attended the gala. Referring to the recent presidential meeting between the two countries, Xie said that both the Chinese and American people have upheld the mission of bridging cultures despite the ups and downs in bilateral relations.

"These efforts added a profound and moving chapter to the friendship between our two peoples, a friendship tested through blood and fire," Xie said.

Xie said that under the new vision of "building a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability", the two countries are once again at a "historical crossroads" and need greater efforts to expand common ground, move forward together, and strengthen people-to-people exchanges.

Peter Walker, a board trustee of China Institute, senior partner emeritus at McKinsey & Company, and a longtime China observer who has visited China more than 90 times, told China Daily why he has remained committed to the nonprofit organization.

"We focus on the soft cultural things, education, arts, culinary exchange, travel, fashion, sports — the places where people connect," he said.

He also emphasized the importance of youth exchanges.

"That's a top priority for us," Walker said. "We have a whole effort around the next generation of people who we want to get involved."

According to the latest data, more than 50,000 young Americans have visited China under Chinese President Xi Jinping's "50,000 in Five Years" initiative, achieving the target two and a half years ahead of schedule.

The next generations of families involved in US-China exchanges also emphasized a long-term commitment to continuing the legacy.

Christopher Nixon Cox, representing the Nixon family, said that people from the two countries are able to bridge their differences.

"Tonight, our two countries face tensions, new questions, new uncertainty," Nixon Cox said in his speech. "The work of bridge building has never been finished, and, in some seasons, it feels harder than ever."

Steven Rockefeller Jr., representing the Rockefeller family whose ties to China date back to the late 19th century, told China Daily that the family's engagement in US-China relations reflects a long-standing tradition of supporting cross-cultural understanding and exchange.

"There's so much opportunity for everyone to contribute in their own way," he said. "It's a vast landscape with such spectacular history, and so much art and culture and literature and whatever you're interested in, there's so much to share."

David Firestein, the president and CEO of the George H. W. Bush Foundation for US-China Relations, representing the Bush family, said he is glad to see more Americans traveling to China.

"The more the American people understand China based on firsthand experience, the more support there will be for a functional and constructive relationship between the United States and China," he said.

"The standard of education is exceptionally high in China, and many students would benefit greatly from going there."