Sycos, an American friend, was mentioned by President Xi Jinping at the White House state dinner: It’s unbelievable and I hope the United States and China can become friends.

China News Service, Beijing, September 25 (Reporter Zeng Yue) Talking about his feelings about being mentioned by Chinese President Xi Jinping in his speech at the White House state dinner, American friend "Sekos" (real name Ronald Sakolsky) expressed disbelief in an exclusive video interview with a reporter from China News Service on the evening of the 24th local time in Washington, DC, and expressed his hope that the United States and China will become friends.

On the evening of September 24, local time, US President Trump and his wife Melania hosted a welcoming state banquet for Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan at the White House. After the banquet began, Xi Jinping told the story of Sykos and Yin Yuzhen, a Chinese sand control expert, in his speech.

"This is incredible. I'm still shaking with excitement as I sit here talking to you." Sykos said that all this was completely unexpected. "If I had hair, my hair would stand up like Einstein."

Sekos said that after returning to the United States, he kept in touch with his Chinese friends not a day went by. "China has become my second hometown. I hope that in the future chapter of the story, I will have the opportunity to return to China again."

When Xi Jinping visited the United States in 2023, he proposed the initiative of “inviting 50,000 American teenagers to come to China for exchange and study in five years”, which has now been realized ahead of schedule. During this visit, Xi Jinping announced that in the next five years, China will invite 100,000 American teenagers to come to China for exchange and study.

In Sekos’ view, the “50,000 in five years” initiative has opened the door to exchanges and exchanges between young people in the United States and China, and the “100,000 in five years” initiative has taken another step forward, “definitely a positive signal.”

"If these 150,000 American youths only establish one-on-one connections with the 150,000 Chinese youths, then 300,000 people will participate in building this relationship across the ocean." Sekos believes that from 150,000, 300,000 to 600,000, there will be a wider range of people-to-people exchanges between the United States and China, thereby promoting a constructive strategic and stable relationship between the two countries.

He expressed his belief that the meeting between the two heads of state will generate positive progress and promote more cooperation between the United States and China. "China has a lot to learn from, and the United States also has a lot to share with China."

During the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, Sekos shared a message to his Chinese friends. He said: "I am looking up at the moon now, and what they see over there will be the same moon. This just conveys the truth: We live on the same earth, we must protect the earth, and we must treat each other well. The United States should be China's friend, and China should be the friend of the United States." (End)