On November 17, 2025, the 6th U.S.-China Hong Kong Forum, co-hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF), kicked off in Hong Kong. With the theme of "Circles for Peace", the forum gathered over 300 participants from political, economic, academic, scientific, technological, educational and other sectors. They came from China and the U.S., as well as Asian countries including India, Singapore and Bangladesh. Vice President Shen Xin of the CPAFFC; John Zhao, Chairman of the China-United States Exchange Foundation; and Charlene Barshefsky, Chairperson of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, attended the opening address and the high-level conversation. Xie Feng, Ambassador of China to the U.S., delivered a video address.
In the speech, Shen Xin noted that when President Xi Jinping met with President Donald Trump in Busan, he pointed out that China and the United States should be partners and friends. That is what history has taught us and what reality needs. President Trump also stated that China is the biggest partner of the U.S., and the two countries can get many great things done for the world and have many years of success. Shen Xin emphasized that people from all walks of life in the two countries should adhere to the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, and actively implement the important consensus reached at the meeting between the heads of the two states. Shen elaborated on the guiding principles of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, expressing that in the next five years, China's opening-up and cooperation will reach a new level in both breadth and depth. Despite external pressures and the resurgence of protectionism, China remains firmly committed to expanding high-standard opening-up and institutional opening-up, which will surely provide broader space for China-U.S. cooperation. Additionally, he shared the story of Kuliang, which shows an enduring China-U.S. bond of love, friendship and understanding, and examples of China-U.S. sister-city exchanges. He hoped that Chinese and American visionaries from the two nations would actively contribute to the people-to-people friendship between the two countries and strive to promote the stable, sound and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations.
Shen also attended a dialogue under the theme "From the Ground Up: Strengthening U.S.–China Ties Through People", in which he conducted in-depth discussions on enhancing people-to-people exchanges between the two countries with Neil Bush, Chairman of the George H.W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations, and Nicole Kruse, Vice President of the Carter Center.
