The Flying Tigers’ Xinjiang Visit: Carrying Forward the Sino-American Friendship

Flying Tigers, also known as the American Volunteer Group that fought the Japanese in China during the Second World War, are a common heritage shared by the Chinese and American people. To promote the cooperation spirit and the bond between the two peoples forged during that critical historical time, the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation was founded in 1998.

Last September, Chinese President Xi Jinping replied to a letter from chairman of the foundation Jeffrey Greene and Flying Tigers veterans Harry Moyer and Mel McMullen. President Xi said in his letter, “In growing China-U.S. relations, the hope lies in the people, the foundation lies among the people, and the future lies with the youth.”

President Xi’s letter has been constantly encouraging us.

With an aim to promote friendship between the United States and China, and educate the young generation to remember the history, our foundation held a large-scale photo exhibition of Flying Tigers and an opening ceremony of a friendship school in Urumqi, northwest China’s Xinjiang on November 30, 2024.

The visiting group of the foundation was met by Ma Xingrui, secretary of the CPC Xinjiang regional committee and Erkin Tuniyaz, chairman of the government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The two local leaders gave a warm welcome to the delegation and spoke highly of the event in Xinjiang. They are glad to see that the event can help promote mutual understanding and people-to-people exchange between China and the United States. Secretary Ma also introduced Xinjiang’s special advantages and the huge potential of international cooperation in Xinjiang.

Through the meeting, we firmly believe that friendly people of China and the United States can achieve new win-win results in the development of Xinjiang for its openness and rich resources.

Our visit to Xinjiang started with an invitation from Chen Weijun, executive vice chairman of the government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. In a meeting with Chen, he invited us to taste the pomegranates grown in Xinjiang. He told us President Xi used pomegranate seeds to stand for the solidarity of all ethnic groups. And we also heard people in Xinjiang often saying ‘‘all ethnic groups unite as tightly as pomegranate seeds.” Inspired by this story, we hope that the people of China and the United States can get along with each other like pomegranate seeds.

The photo exhibition of Flying Tigers covers an area of over 1,200 square meters, making it the largest of its kind we have ever held in China. Besides, we have partnered with seven Flying Tigers Friendship Schools.

Through these historical pictures displayed during the photo exhibition, visitors including many students can see the spectacular scenes of the Flying Tigers flying to Urumqi in the 1940s, and learn more about the legendary history of Chinese and American heroes fighting shoulder to shoulder against Japanese aggression. The cooperation spirit can be passed down to the next generations in both China and the United States.

Our Xinjiang visit has produced more positive results than we expected. During our stay in Xinjiang, we witnessed “Xinjiang speed” in development and the stable and harmonious society enjoyed by all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. We have a better understanding of Xinjiang’s openness and its geographic position of connecting China and Central Asia and Europe. We are confident that Xinjiang will play a more important role in promoting the Belt and Road cooperation and building a community with a shared future for mankind.

With great potential and inclusiveness, the beautiful Xinjiang is a great place for people from around the world to seek opportunities and realize their dreams. The foundation looks forward to more opportunities for cooperation with Xinjiang in the future and the everlasting Sino-American friendship.

The author is a member of Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation.

The article reflects the author’s opinions, and not necessarily the views of China Focus.