During a recent visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) in New York, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng expressed his hope to the world-renowned museum's director that MET will continue to promote people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between China and the United States.

Xie, who had an exchange of views with Director Max Hollein as he visited the museum on July 7, said that MET is a world-renowned museum with a long history and rich collections. It is one of the museums that have enjoyed the longest cooperation with China, with most joint programs and of the largest scale.

As early as in 1980, MET held The Great Bronze Age of China exhibition. In the same year, the Astor court and its Suzhou version were open to the public at the same time, and have ever since witnessed over four decades of China-U.S. cultural exchanges. MET has become a must-see for Chinese tourists, who account for the largest share of its foreign visitors.

Xie said that China is now committed to advancing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization, which will feature both material and cultural-ethical advancement. People are the foundation of China-U.S. relations. China-U.S. cultural and cultural heritage exchanges should serve as a catalyst for promoting mutual understanding and respect and bringing peoples closer.

At a time of difficulties and challenges in China-U.S. relations, it is all the more important to build bridges, not walls, and understand rather than misperceive each other. It is all the more important to fully leverage the unique power of culture to reach hearts, actively build bridges for exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, and open up a window for better understanding of each other's history and culture. It is hoped that MET will continue to promote people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between China and the United States in areas such as cultural exhibitions, preservation technology and digitalization, show more creativity and inject positive energy into China-U.S. relations.

Hollein warmly welcomed Xie and his colleagues, and gave a brief introduction to the collections and the management of the museum. He said that MET has and will always attach great importance to exchanges and cooperation with China. The Shape of Time: Art and Ancestors of Oceania exhibition, a joint program between the two sides, is on view in Shanghai. MET looks forward to more exchanges and cooperation with China and welcomes more Chinese tourists.