传递“飞虎精神”接力棒 续写中美友好新篇章

Carry forward the spirit of the Flying Tigers and write a new chapter in China-U.S. friendship

——谢锋大使在“飞虎队来华抗战85周年纪念活动”启动仪式上的致辞

 — Remarks by H.E. Ambassador Xie Feng at the Launch Ceremony Commemorating the 85th Anniversary of the Flying Tigers Coming to China

尊敬的江苏省领导，南京市领导，

格林主席，

女士们，先生们，朋友们：

Leaders of Jiangsu Province and the city of Nanjing,

Chairman Greene,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Dear friends,

很高兴以视频方式和大家相聚南京，共同参加纪念飞虎队援华抗战85周年纪念活动。预祝本次活动圆满成功！

It is a great pleasure to join you in Nanjing via video link for the launch ceremony commemorating the 85th anniversary of the Flying Tigers coming to China. First, I would like to wish this event a great success.

85年前，在中华民族抗战最艰难的岁月，一大批美国飞行员组成美国志愿援华航空队远渡重洋，被中国人民亲切地称为“飞虎队”。他们与中国军民并肩作战，击落敌机2900余架、毙敌6.6万余人，以2000余人血洒蓝天的代价，践行了中美共同抗击法西斯的坚定承诺。中美军民在战火中铸就了捍卫和平、患难与共、重情尚义的飞虎队精神，在两国人民心中筑起不朽丰碑。

Eighty-five years ago, in the toughest moments of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, a group of American pilots formed the American Volunteer Group and flew across the Pacific, who were fondly called the “Flying Tigers” by the Chinese people. They fought shoulder to shoulder with Chinese soldiers and civilians, shot down over 2,900 Japanese fighter jets, and eliminated more than 66,000 aggressors. More than 2,000 of them laid down their lives in China, fulfilling their commitment to fighting fascism alongside the Chinese people. Amid the flames of war, Chinese and American soldiers and civilians forged the Flying Tigers spirit — a spirit of defending peace, sharing weal and woe, and valuing friendship, which continues to resonate in the hearts of both our peoples to this day.

今天，维护世界和平与发展依然任重道远。前不久，中美元首在北京举行了历史性、标志性会晤，不仅确立了中美关系新定位，也开启了两国人民友好新进程。站在新的历史起点上，我们需要更多“飞虎英雄”与时俱进、付诸行动，不断焕发中美人民友好新生机。

Eighty-five years on, maintaining world peace and development remains an arduous task.Not long ago, the Presidents of China and the United States held a historic and landmark meeting in Beijing, which has not only established a new vision for China-U.S. relations, but also started a new chapter in people-to-people friendship between our two countries. At this historical starting point, we need more Flying Tigers of the new era, who will rise to the challenges of our time, take concrete action, and give new momentum to the friendship between our two peoples.

让我们学习“飞虎榜样”，承担中美维护和平的大国责任。85年前，中美军民克服文化不同、语言不通的差异，谱写了捍卫和平、维护正义的壮丽篇章，为建立二战后国际秩序作出重要贡献。如今，中美作为世界前两大经济体和联合国安理会常任理事国，对世界和平、稳定、繁荣肩负特殊重大责任。中美元首北京会晤同意构建中美建设性战略稳定关系，明确朝着合作为主、竞争有度、分歧可控、和平可期的方向努力。中美应从共同抗击法西斯的历史中汲取智慧与勇气，扛起历史重任，确保中美关系这艘巨轮沿着正确航道平稳前行，为世界和平繁荣和进步作出更大贡献。

Let us learn from the examplesof the Flying Tigers, and shoulder our responsibilities as major countries in upholding peace. Eighty-five years ago, despite cultural and language barriers, Chinese and American soldiers and civilians wrote an epic chapter in history by jointly defending peace and justice, making significant contributions to the establishment of the post-World War II international order. Today, as the world’s top two economies and permanent members of the UN Security Council, China and the United States carry a special and major responsibility for world peace, stability and prosperity. During the Beijing Summit, our two Presidents agreed on building a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability, making it clear that we will work toward a relationship with cooperation as the mainstay, competition within proper limits, manageable differences, and expectable peace. China and the United States should draw wisdom and courage from our history of fighting fascism together, meet our historical responsibilities, and ensure the giant ship of bilateral relations will move steadily along the right course, so as to make greater contributions to world peace, prosperity, and progress.

让我们弘扬“飞虎精神”，夯实中美友好民意基础。中美人民都热爱和平、正义友善，都渴望交往合作。从中国人民顶着日军狂轰滥炸为飞虎队抢修跑道、救援美军飞行员，到一座座飞虎队纪念碑、纪念馆拔地而起，再到中美在南京抗日航空烈士纪念馆英烈碑镌刻飞虎队员的名字，两国人民在血与火中淬炼的情谊历久弥新。在北京会晤中，两国元首都讲述了中美人民友好交往故事，强调促进两国人文交流的重要性。我们要落实好中美元首共识，推动两国各界多往来、多交流，用热情融化坚冰、用真诚打破隔阂，续写新时期“飞虎故事”新佳话。

Let us carry forward the spirit of the Flying Tigers, and enhance public support for China-U.S. friendship. Both the Chinese and American people cherish peace and justice, are friendly toward each other, and long for greater exchanges and cooperation. During the war, the Chinese people built runways for the Flying Tigers despite Japanese bombing and risked their lives to rescue American pilots. Over the past decades, monuments and memorial halls honoring the Flying Tigers have been established across China, and the names of the heroes have been inscribed on marble tablets in the Anti-Japanese Aviation Martyrs Memorial Hall of Nanjing. The bonds forged between our two peoples in blood and fire have grown from strength to strength. During the Beijing summit, both Presidents shared stories of friendly interactions between our two peoples, underscoring the importance of promoting people-to-people exchanges. We need to act on their consensus, and encourage interactions across all sectors of our two countries, so as to melt the ice with enthusiasm, overcome estrangement with sincerity, and write new Flying Tigers stories in this era.

让我们培育“飞虎青年”，开创中美关系美好未来。中美人民友好的伟大事业需要一代又一代接续奋斗。从5万多名美国青少年参与中方“5年5万”倡议，到超百所中国学校加入“飞虎队友谊学校”；从中美莘莘学子在“飞虎队夏令营”中互学互鉴，到两国青年在“飞虎队青年领袖对话会”上高唱友谊万岁，青年人正在成为促进中美友好的生力军。让我们鼓励、支持更多中美青年紧握时代接力棒，赋予“飞虎精神”新内涵，共同应对人工智能、气候变化、全球治理等人类新课题新挑战，为中美关系发展贡献青春力量。

Let us nurture young Flying Tigers, and open up a brighter future for China-U.S. relations.The great cause of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples requires sustained efforts from generation to generation. In recent years, more than 50,000 young Americans have participated in China’s “50,000 in five years” initiative. Over 100 Chinese schools have joined the Flying Tigers Friendship Schools program. Students from both countries learned from each other at Flying Tigers Summer Camps, and sang about lasting friendship at the Flying Tigers Youth Leadership Dialogue. All these are vivid examples of how the younger generation is becoming a driving force in fostering goodwill between our two countries. Let us encourage and support more young people to take up the baton of the times, breathe new life into the Flying Tigers spirit, jointly address new challenges facing humankind, such as artificial intelligence, climate change, and global governance, and contribute their wisdom to the development of China-U.S. relations.

各位朋友，

Dear friends,

回望来路，“飞虎故事”深深融入中美人民的共同记忆。放眼未来，“飞虎精神”熠熠生辉，召唤我们开启新的征程。让我们在两国元首的战略引领下，用两国人民的双向奔赴不断给中美关系注入勃勃生机，助力中美走出一条相互尊重、和平共处、合作共赢的新时期正确相处之道，造福两国、惠及世界。

Looking back, the stories of the Flying Tigers have become a shared memory of the Chinese and American peoples. Going forward, the spirit of the Flying Tigers continues to live on, inspiring us to embark on a new journey. Under the strategic guidance of our two Presidents, let us encourage our people to reach out to each other, so as to inject fresh impetus into China-U.S. relations, and help our two countries find a right way to get along in the new era based on mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, to the benefit of both our countries and the entire world.

谢谢大家！

Thank you.