San Francisco participates in Chinese National Day event – ​​World

China's top diplomat in Northern California, along with U.S. elected officials and community leaders, pledged Tuesday to continue building a strong, dynamic and mutually beneficial relationship between China and San Francisco.

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, San Francisco held a Chinese national flag raising ceremony at City Hall.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed declared October 1 as Chinese-American Friendship and Heritage Day.

Zhang Jianmin, China's consul general in San Francisco, said he attended a flag-raising event to celebrate China's National Day for the third time this year.

“The more I do it, the more I love it, because the more I’m here (at City Hall), the more I appreciate the value of friendship,” Zhang said.

“Today is a momentous day; it is a day of joy and pride for every Chinese,” Zhang said. “We are proud of the profound changes that have taken place in China over the last 75 years.

“We built China from a weak and poor country to the second largest economy in the world,” he said. “A total of 800 million people have been lifted out of poverty. The entire nation of 1.4 billion people now enjoys a life of modern prosperity.”

More importantly, “We’re still working really hard. We will continue our efforts to deepen reform,” Zhang added.

Zhang said the ceremony captured “the essence of San Francisco as an open, inclusive and welcoming city” and said the moment also reflected a strong commitment by San Francisco to building a “strong and lasting friendship and cooperation with China.”

The mayor, who visited China in April as part of a cross-city agenda, said her delegation had reached significant agreements for tourism and economic growth with some of China's most economically dynamic cities, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

It has also signed a memorandum of understanding with China detailing cooperation programs on panda conservation.

“Panda is not just the cute little cuddly bear, it's all about friendship, about our deep connection,” said Breed, adding that the city looks forward to hosting China's pandas next year.

China and San Francisco maintain an enduring friendship, the mayor said, adding that this year also marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of the sister city relationship with Shanghai.

In 1979, then-San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein visited Shanghai and agreed with city officials to maintain “this long-standing friendship.”

Willie Brown, former mayor of San Francisco, is a staunch supporter of China-US friendship. He said the relationship was mutually beneficial and there was great potential. “I just hope it keeps getting better and better,” he said.

In order to continue and strengthen the existing friendship, the young generation must carry the torch. Over the summer, high school students from all over San Francisco flew to China to explore the country, promote intercultural understanding between China and the United States and bring back fond memories, Zhang said.

Daphne Fang, chairwoman of the San Francisco Sister City Committee, helped organize an in-person exchange program that sent ten high school students from San Francisco to Shanghai.

“The participation of San Francisco high school youth in friendship summer camps in Shanghai will strengthen cultural understanding and friendship and have an impact across borders and generations,” she said.

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