The US session of the "Prelude to the Spring Festival Gala: The World Watches the CMG Gala Together" event was held on Tuesday at Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington state.

Shen Haixiong, president of China Media Group, noted that 55 years ago, a small ping-pong ball opened the door to mutual understanding between the peoples of China and the United States, creating the remarkable story of "a small ball moving the big ball.” Ten years ago, during his visit to the United States, Chinese President Xi Jinping encouraged American youth at Lincoln High School to travel more in China, bringing renewed confidence and momentum to China-U.S. friendship. Today, the CMG Spring Festival Gala for the Year of the Horse, carrying the warmth and lights of countless households, is building a cultural bridge that connects shared emotions across the world.

Shen said the "Prelude to the Spring Festival Gala" has been held for three consecutive years, with a growing number of Americans experiencing Chinese culture by celebrating the Chinese New Year and watching the Spring Festival Gala. Shen expressed hope that the event would help foster a brighter future for China-US relations and contribute to building a community with a shared future for humanity.

Xie Feng, Chinese ambassador to the U.S., said China-U.S. relations are facing both new opportunities and multiple challenges. He hopes the two countries could follow the guidance of heads-of-state diplomacy, and keep bilateral relations on the right track; properly manage differences and eliminate obstacles to the development of bilateral relations; actively expand mutually beneficial cooperation, and provide stronger momentum for developing bilateral relations; and strengthen the bonds between our peoples by enhancing friendly interactions.

Xie noted that the Spring Festival symbolizes the return of spring, the melting of ice and snow, and the revival of all living things, adding that the two countries should deepen people-to-people ties, reinforce public support for China-US relations, and inject more "spring warmth" into bilateral ties in the year ahead and beyond.

Yang Wanming, President of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, said that President Xi Jinping has emphasized that the hope of China–U.S. relations lies with the people. He highlighted the long-standing ties between Tacoma and China, and expressed the hope that by watching the CMG Spring Festival Gala together, Chinese and American friends can promote mutual learning between the two civilizations.

Zhang Jianmin, Consul General of China in San Francisco, said that under the personal attention and guidance of President Xi Jinping, Fuzhou and Tacoma established a sister-city relationship, which has since become a model of local cooperation between China and the United States. He hopes the two countries could move toward each other in the Year of the Horse, overcome obstacles, deepen mutual understanding through exchanges, and work together to create a better future for the two countries and the world.

Anders Ibsen, mayor of Tacoma, noted that Tacoma and Fuzhou formally established a sister-city relationship in 1994 at the initiative of Xi Jinping, then Secretary of the Fuzhou Municipal Party Committee. This partnership laid a solid foundation for an enduring friendship between Tacoma and Fuzhou, as well as between Tacoma and China. Over the years, Tacoma’s friendly exchanges with China have helped expand local trade and business cooperation, deepen cultural ties, and promote the development of a wide range of youth programs.

During the event, 25 students from Lincoln High School performed the Chinese song "On the Fields of Hope" and the English song "Stand by Me," conveying their best wishes for China-US friendship through music.