On the evening of May 2, 2025, the Chinese Embassy in the United States and the Washington National Opera (WNO) at the Kennedy Center jointly hosted the "2025 Opera Gala". Ambassador Xie Feng and his wife Madame Wang Dan,Chairman of the WNO Board Eric Larsen and his wife Ms. Susi Larsen, along with other guests from the American cultural, artistic, and business communities attended the event.

Ambassador Xie said that Chinese and American operas are remarkable in their own ways. They all reveal a shared longing for truth, beauty and a better life. Each has its own beauty, and together they shine even more brightly. In China, cultural industry is booming.The vibrant domestic demand is to generate broad opportunities：as Chinese culture goes global, inbound tourism is surging. 

Ambassador Xie pointed out that people-to-people friendship lays the foundation for enduring relations and peace between nations. It matters even more at difficult times. That is why we feel heartened to see more Americans visiting China under the 240-hour, visa-free transit policy. China’s recent new tax refund measures are also making shopping easier for international visitors.We welcome more American friends to come and discover China. We hope more people with insight would speak up for a sound China-U.S. relationship.

At the event, WNO’s soprano Anneliese Klenetsky and the pianist Tongyao Li presented a joint performance of classic opera excerpts. The guests cheered in appreciation of art that transcends borders and expressed their hope for more fruitful China-US cultural exchanges in the future.