Gao Xiang, president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, meets with Sharon Crain, an American friend and senior advisor to the Helen Foster Snow Foundation. Photo: Wang Zhou/CSSN

On Aug. 24, Gao Xiang, president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), met in Beijing with a visiting delegation led by Sharon Crain, an American friend and senior advisor to the Helen Foster Snow Foundation.

Gao stated that the long-term and stable development of China-US relations would not be possible without the concerted efforts of people committed to friendship across all sectors of both countries. China has consistently supported greater contact and exchange between the peoples of the two countries. This is both an important consensus between the two heads of state and a shared aspiration of the Chinese and American peoples.

Nearly half a century ago, Gao continued, Helen Foster Snow inspired Ms. Crain to devote herself to promoting people-to-people friendship between China and the United States. Ms. Crain has long supported China-US academic exchanges, and the ties that she and her family have forged with China, akin to the century-old story of Kuliang, offer a vivid reflection of the enduring friendship between the two peoples.

He expressed hope that Ms. Crain and the Helen Foster Snow Foundation will continue to leverage their influence to serve as a bridge for communication and exchange between the two countries, encourage more Americans from all sectors to visit China, and contribute further to strengthening friendship between the Chinese and American peoples and promoting the sound and steady development of China-US relations.

Gao pointed out that academic exchanges and dialogue among young people are important components of China-US people-to-people exchanges. As China’s top academic institution for philosophy and the social sciences, CASS attaches great importance to international academic exchanges and stands ready to maintain close communication with the US academic community and create more opportunities for dialogue and exchange among young scholars and students from both countries.

The Chinese Academy of History (CAH) under CASS, he added, is a national-level historical research institution established at the personal initiative and under the guidance of General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping. The CAH is willing to work with Ms. Crain and the Helen Foster Snow Foundation to advance the collection, organization, translation, dissemination, and study of historical materials related to Helen Foster Snow.

Gao also expressed hope that the two sides would hold academic seminars and conduct collaborative research on topics such as Helen Foster Snow and the Chinese revolution, as well as China-US people-to-people exchanges, and tell the story of friendly exchanges between the Chinese and American peoples from an academic perspective.

Crain thanked CASS for its warm reception. She noted that this return visit to China with her family had deepened her understanding of Chinese history and culture and once again demonstrated the enduring vitality of people-to-people friendship between the United States and China. As the Chinese idiom puts it, “success depends on human effort.” The bridge of China-US friendship built by Helen Foster Snow and other international friends of her generation must be carried forward by successive generations. Helen Foster Snow’s spirit should be carried forward by fostering greater mutual understanding and affinity among people from all walks of life, sustaining people-to-people friendship, and bringing benefits to the peoples of both countries.

Heads of relevant CASS departments and institutes attended the meeting.