A friend worthy of eternal honor

Li Xikui

L adies and gentlemen， friends， good morning！

I am very happy that the Photo Exhibition Tour in Memory of Helen Foster Snow has come to Hunan province. Allow me to extend， on behalf of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries， warm congratulations and sincere thanks to all the Chinese and American friends for their efforts in making the exhibition possible. Helen was a true friend of the Chinese people， worthy of honor forever.

In 1935， Helen and Edgar Snow provided protection to student activists by opening their home to them during the December 9 Movement. In 1937， Helen visited Yan’an and interviewed Mao Zedong， Zhu De， Zhou Enlai and other top leaders of the Communist Party of China. In 1938， she joined Edgar Snow， Rewi Alley and others to found the first committee for the promotion of industrial cooperatives in China — also known as Gung Ho —to help the war-torn and long-suffering Chinese people develop production. Chinese people affectionately called her “the mother of Gung Ho”. After 1972， Helen returned to China twice， meeting with old friends and reporting to the world what she saw and heard.

A prominent journalist and prolific writer， Helen chose to describe her thoughts as “bridging”. As an old Chinese saying goes， “Great truths are always simple.” “Bridging”， though a simple word， best gathers up the legendary life of Helen Snow and represents her contribution to mutual understanding between the Chinese and American people.

Lu Cui， a student leader of the December 9 Movement and later vicepresident of the CPAFFC， recalled in 1991 that Helen once wrote to her and said that she and Edgar had built the earliest bridge of friendship between China and the United States. She also noted that the students she made friends with during the December 9 Movement were the initial planks of that bridge. She said they had fought for a lifetime for friendship between the Chinese and American peoples and expressed hope that everybody would hold high the banner of friendship and make continued efforts.

In 1996， the CPAFFC gave Helen the title of friendship ambassador. She was the second American to receive this title and certainly deserved it， Lu said.

Through the joint efforts of friends from China and the US， the Helen Foster Snow photo exhibition was successfully launched in Jiangxi province in July. Today we gather here to hold the photo exhibition in commemoration of Helen’s historic contribution. We hope that more friends from the two countries will follow Helen’s example and commit themselves to the cause of deepening China-US friendship.

China-US relations are now faced with difficulties and challenges. Some US media outlets are also filled with negative reports on China and ChinaUS relations. Such reports harm the vital interests of the American people. This serves neither the fundamental interests of the people of the two countries nor the common interests of the rest of the world. I believe that such jarring voices do not represent the true mainstream public opinion in the US. Instead， given the joint effort to host this exhibition， I have felt strong support for friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

Ladies and gentleman —

We should learn from Helen Snow and build more bridges of understanding between China and the US. The two countries differ in their history and culture and thus have chosen different political systems and development modes. In reality， there are no identical countries in the world， yet the world is only more colorful and beautiful because of diversity. The world is big enough for our two countries to develop individually and collectively.

We should work together to build bridges for the two peoples to deepen mutual understanding， so that the two sides can view each other with respect， learn from each other with humility and accept differences with an inclusive attitude. We should foster an objective perception of each other， avoid misunderstanding and remove estrangement.

We should learn from Helen Snow and build more bridges of friendship between China and the US. From the Flying Tigers. who came to support China in the war of resistance against Japanese aggression during World War II， to the pingpong diplomacy of the early 1970s， the annals of China-US relations are filled with moving stories. Indeed， the Chinese and American peoples have always cherished their friendly mutual sentiments and have never ceased to pursue friendly exchanges.

We should continue to encourage and expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges and cooperation， promote amity between the two peoples and uphold and develop our traditional friendship. We need to build a stronger public opinion foundation for bilateral ties.

We should learn from Helen Snow and build more bridges of cooperation between China and the US. Our bilateral cooperation over the past four decades has delivered huge benefits to the two peoples. President Xi Jinping has pointed out that when China and the US cooperate， the two countries and the world benefit； when they are in confrontation， both suffer， and the world suffers with them. Getting the relationship right is not an option but rather something we must do and must do well.

With the international community facing many common challenges， China and the United States need to show broad vision and shoulder their great responsibility. They should look ahead， press forward and demonstrate their courage and revolve in formulating strategies and policies. They must bring China-US relations back to the right track of stable development as soon as possible for the good of the people in both countries and around the world.

Ladies and gentleman， friends， I sincerely hope that people of vision from both countries will inherit and carry forward the spirit of Helen Foster Snow and build more bridges of understanding， friendship and cooperation between China and the US in the new era and make unremitting efforts for the sound and stable development of China-US relations. I believe this is the best way to celebrate Helen’s legacy.

Let me conclude by wishing the photo exhibition and the following exhibition tour a big success！