On April 26, 2024, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng attended the Experience Chinese Fashion and Arts event co-hosted by the Chinese Embassy in the United States and the Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide and delivered remarks.

Ambassador Xie said that beauty is everywhere. What is lacking is not beauty, but eyes to perceive her, and a big heart and an open mind to appreciate the beauty of all civilizations. China and the United States are different in history, culture, social system and development path. Nevertheless, these should not hamper our exchanges, but should encourage us to learn from each other. In recent years, especially during this Spring Festival, more and more young people have become fascinated with the neo-Chinese style. OOTDs (outfit of the day) such as Chinese-style tops with jeans and T-shirts with horse-face skirts are gaining traction, in a perfect combination of Chinese and Eastern attire and traditional and modern aesthetics. This proves again that there is every reason why different civilizations can prosper respectively and together.

Ambassador Xie emphasized that as an idiom goes, “A single flower does not make a spring.” There are over 200 countries and regions in this world, with more than 2,500 ethnic groups and multiple religions. Each and every kind of attire, music and lifestyle is irreplaceable and is a shared treasure of mankind. This is why China has put forward the Global Civilization Initiative. We look forward to working with other countries to jointly advocate the respect for the diversity of civilizations, the common values of humanity, the inheritance and innovation of civilizations, and robust international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation. It is our hope that fashion and art will serve as bridges for China-U.S. cultural exchanges and mutual learning, and inject impetus into dialogue between and common progress of all civilizations.