Distinguished guests,
Dear friends,

Good morning! In Chinese culture, we believe “Spring is a season of healing when illness retreats.” So first, I would like to welcome all of you to visit our Embassy in this season of vigor and experience the traditional Chinese medicine culture. 

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has a rich history spanning over thousands of years. In it, you can not only learn about how the Chinese people have treated diseases and strengthened the body since ancient times, but also get a glimpse into Chinese philosophy. It is a gem of ancient Chinese science, a key to Chinese civilization, and also a source of inspiration for addressing the challenges of our time. 

Through innovation and inclusiveness, the TCM culture has made valuable contributions to human health. Legend has it that Shennong, the “father of TCM” who lived over 5,000 years ago, tasted hundreds of herbs and encountered 72 poisons a day just to test their medicinal value. Throughout history, Chinese physicians have put life first and advanced TCM with compassion for the people. Today, we have over 13,000 ancient classics on TCM and over 18,000 varieties of TCM drug materials, which have helped the Chinese nation navigate through plagues one after another, and offered China’s solution for conquering diseases facing mankind. 

When Chinese navigator Zheng He led fleets to embark on seven overseas voyages more than 600 years ago, the ships were loaded not with firearms, but herbs and midwives. When plasmodium falciparum, the parasite that causes malaria, developed resistance to quinine in the 1960s, Chinese scientist Tu Youyou extracted artemisinin from Chinese herbs, which has saved millions of lives ever since. During the Covid-19 pandemic, TCM treatment proved effective on over 90% of the patients, contributing China’s wisdom to the global anti-epidemic response.

Today, TCM is practiced in more than 190 countries and regions. Chinese massage, cupping and moxibustion therapies are being embraced by more and more people. Innovative Chinese herbal teas and other health products keep emerging. The ancient treasure of China is brimming with vitality in the new era, and becoming a popular health choice around the world. 

Emphasizing addressing both the symptoms and root causes and strengthening the foundation while nourishing the source, TCM offers useful references for moving beyond tariff war and trade war. TCM holds that to treat a disease, it is crucial to identify its root cause, face the problem squarely and take the right medicine, instead of only tackling the symptoms or even imposing prescriptions on others for one’s own illness. Likewise, the main reason why global growth has hit a bottleneck is because it lacks momentum. So instead of fighting over the existing turf, a wiser solution will be making the pie bigger from a long-term perspective. 

Also, in TCM theory, pain means the flow of blood is not smooth. Globalization, connectivity and complementary advantages are the foundation of global prosperity over the past decades, and the path countries must take to achieve sustained common development. Weaponizing interdependence would only cause self-isolation and backfire, and tariff barriers would clog the flow of international trade and devastate the health of world economy. I believe many of you are familiar with how the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act ultimately escalated the Great Depression. “Tributaries will dry up when there is no water in the main river.” If global industrial and supply chains are blocked, countries would face a supply shortage and soaring prices, which would eventually hurt everyone’s wellbeing. The fundamental way out is to ensure the smooth flow of world economy so as to keep it robust and vibrant.

Valuing internal harmony through the balance between yin and yang, TCM provides the right mindset for Chinese and American people to enhance mutual understanding, and seek common ground while reserving differences. TCM believes that any illness is rooted in the discord between yin and yang, so maintaining health is about preserving the dynamic equilibrium in the body. Eastern civilizations uphold harmonious coexistence. A good TCM recipe usually combines many different ingredients, which reinforce one another and create the best medical effect. Likewise, the Earth is big enough to accommodate both China and the U.S. We should pursue peaceful coexistence rather than collide head-on, and help each other succeed rather than get caught in a lose-lose scenario. 

Both Chinese and American people wish for good health and a better future. TCM has served as a bond fostering exchanges between our people. During President Richard Nixon’s ice-breaking trip to China in 1972, a surgery under acupuncture anesthesia amazed numerous Americans. Last month, American YouTuber IShowSpeed livestreamed himself trying pulse diagnosis and acupuncture, and his headache went away after just three minutes. Currently, acupuncture is legally recognized in 47 American states and D.C. Also, a growing number of American people are becoming fans of Taijiquan, Baduanjin and other traditional Chinese exercises. All these have forged close ties between our people, which should not be cut off.

Dear friends,

As an ancient Chinese saying goes, “The greatest physicians save a country; the second greatest save individuals.” The Chinese civilization advocates promoting the common good of the entire world and benefiting each human being. China firmly opposes tariff war or trade war of any form. This is not only to safeguard our own national interests and dignity, but also to champion the international economic and trade order, fairness and justice. If any country insists on imposing tariff war or trade war on us, we will definitely face it fearlessly and take resolute countermeasures.

As the international economic and trade landscape is being rattled, the China International Consumer Products Expo and the Canton Fair which opened earlier this month saw the number of participating brands and businesses hit a new high, and projects with a total investment of over $32 billion were signed during the 2025 Global Industrial Investment Promotion Conference for the Hainan Free Trade Port. In the first quarter, China’s GDP grew 5.4% year-over-year, ranking among the top in major economies. The total value of China’s imports and exports in the period set a new record high, among which countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative accounted for more than 50%. All these have testified to the strong resilience and bright prospects of the Chinese economy.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In a world fraught with instabilities and uncertainties, China remains a huge market with the greatest potentials, a major engine of global growth, and an ideal destination for foreign investment. China’s development will continue to be an opportunity for the whole world. We will continue to open rather than close our doors, tear down rather than erect barriers, empower the world rather than focus solely on self-interest, and bring more stability and certainty to the world with our high-quality development and high-standard opening up. Time has proven and will continue to prove how far China’s recipe will go.

Thank you very much.