San Francisco mayor keen on more U.S.-China people-to-people exchanges

San Francisco Mayor London Breed has voiced hope of strengthening local-level economic and people-to-people exchanges with China.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua before embarking on a visit to China, Breed said that she looks forward to further developing friendly cooperation between San Francisco and China during her first official visit to China as mayor.

On Saturday, Breed will depart for China, where she and a delegation of San Francisco-based business and community leaders will meet with their Chinese peers in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai before returning to San Francisco on April 21.

During the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Week held in San Francisco in November 2023, Breed attended a welcome dinner by friendly organizations in the United States for Chinese President Xi Jinping. Breed said she appreciated Xi's speech, titled "Galvanizing Our Peoples into a Strong Force For the Cause of China-U.S. Friendship," at the event.

The hope of the China-U.S. relationship lies in the people, its foundation is in the societies, its future depends on the youth, and its vitality comes from exchanges at sub-national levels, Xi said during the speech.

Breed said there is a broad community in San Francisco who are actively engaged in San Francisco's affairs and have a real interest in San Francisco's relationship with China.

Over the decades, San Francisco has served as the United States' gateway to Asia, Breed said. "Our San Francisco Chinese community has shaped the history, culture and strength of our city."

"Moreover, our immigrants and the generations that have followed have kept our city connected on that people-to-people basis to all of their native countries, most especially China," she said.

Breed believes that the San Francisco Bay Area and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area can strengthen communication and mutual learning in the future, especially in the field of science and technology.

Noting that artificial intelligence is a huge industry in San Francisco, and China is leading the way in some of the most significant technologies, Breed voiced hope that the two sides will explore more opportunities to learn from each other and grow together in this regard.

"I was born and raised in San Francisco. What I appreciate about San Francisco is we are a global city, and a cross-cultural city," she said. "When I go to Chinatown, I always see somebody. I know somebody."

"What's interesting, even as I became mayor, (is that) the people who are most significant, including many of my friends from high school, happened to be Chinese," she said.

"The relationship runs deep, and the opportunities are significant," she said, adding that she is "looking forward to what this (China) trip is going to bring to San Francisco."

Extending welcome to the U.S. mayor, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressed hope that her visit can achieve positive results and further promote San Francisco's cooperation with China and local exchanges between China and the United States.

China has always supported and encouraged people from all walks of life in the two countries to have more contact and exchanges, accumulate consensus, enhance trust, eliminate interference and deepen cooperation to bring more tangible benefits to the two peoples, Wang said at a regular press briefing last week.

(With input from Xinhua)