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In
his reply to a letter from former pilot Harry Moyer and pilot
gunner Mel McMullen, Xi said the people of China and the United
States had shared the same enemy in their fight against Japan
and had forged a "profound" friendship, according to Chinese
state media on Tuesday.
"Looking to the future, China and the United States, as two
major countries, bear more important responsibilities for world
peace, stability and development," Xi said.
"They should and must achieve mutual respect, peaceful
coexistence, and win-win cooperation."
His call for stable and peaceful ties followed a series of
meetings and talks between US and Chinese officials in recent
months aimed at reducing tensions and restoring channels of
communication including contact between their militaries.
The American Volunteer Group, known as the Flying Tigers, was a
fighter group, comprising former US pilots hired by the Republic
of China led by Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang, to fight against
Japan in 1941-42.
The airmen, whose planes were iconic for their shark faces, were
widely known in China for their feats of bravery in the face of
larger Japanese forces as they took to the skies from rural
runways paved by Chinese people by hand.
"Currently, China-US relations face many difficulties and
challenges," Chinese Vice President Han Zheng told U.S.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the United
Nations General Assembly on Monday.
"The world needs stable and healthy China-US relations," Han
said.
(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Michael Perry)
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