China backs closer people-to-people ties between Chinese and US citizens, says FM spokesperson

China supports stronger people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Tuesday, emphasizing the importance of public engagement in promoting friendship between the two countries.

Mao made the remarks in response to a question about David Plymire, an American who has maintained close ties with people in Huangyuan, a county in northwest China's Qinghai Province.

Plymire's story has recently drawn widespread attention in China. He moved to Huangyuan with his parents in 1932 and settled in Danggar Ancient Town. He lived there for 17 years and regards the county as his hometown. Over the past three decades, he has helped secure medical equipment for local hospitals, supported education through donations and facilitated training opportunities in the United States for Chinese English teachers.

In 1988, he donated an ultrasound machine worth 145,000 Hong Kong dollars (about $18,476) to Huangyuan People's Hospital. The following year, he purchased an advanced ultrasound diagnostic machine with his own money and delivered it to the hospital.

Over the next 19 years, Plymire traveled between China and the United States more than 20 times, mobilizing family members, friends and charitable organizations to support the development of local healthcare.

Over decades, the medical equipment he donated or helped raise funds for was worth more than 6 million yuan ($896,000). At a time when medical resources were severely limited across the western plateau region, the equipment helped address gaps in primary healthcare and enabled local hospitals to provide previously unavailable diagnostic and treatment services.

"Amity between the people holds the key to sound state-to-state relations," Mao said. "The steady flow of exchanges and goodwill between the Chinese and American people has come together to form a lasting river of friendship between the two countries."

China supports stronger people-to-people exchanges and cultural engagement between the two countries, Mao added, saying such efforts can contribute to building a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability based on mutual respect, fairness and reciprocity.