Respectful Vice Chairman Zhu Yongxin,

President Yang Wanming,

Dear guests from China and the U.S.,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today friends old and new have gathered together in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, for the fifth China-U.S. Sister Cities Conference. We feel heartened by your attendance and extend a warm welcome to you all!

Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent a message to the conference, fully demonstrating his concern and regard for the efforts of China-U.S. sister provinces/states and sister cities. The message highly commended the achievements made in such collaborations, expressed the aspiration for promoting healthy and stable development of China-U.S. relations, and provided essential guidance for enhancing local and people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between both countries. We need to follow the instructions given by President Xi, fostering practical cooperation between sister provinces/states and sister cities, and yielding more fruitful results in the amicable exchanges between China and the U.S.

A glimpse of the Garden of Flowing Fragrance, one of the largest Chinese-style gardens overseas, inside the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in Los Angeles, the United States.