Recently, President Xi Jinping wrote a reply letter to Matías Tarnopolsky, President and CEO of The Philadelphia Orchestra.

Xi Jinping noted that he was happy to learn that The Philadelphia Orchestra is visiting China in November for the 13th time and will give a series of performances and engage in exchange activities in collaboration with Chinese partners to celebrate the orchestra's first China tour in 1973 and renew the half-century musical friendship between the orchestra and the Chinese people. Fifty years ago, the orchestra's historical visit to China marked a thaw in China-U.S. cultural exchanges, which holds great significance in the normalization of China-U.S. relations. Over the past 50 years, the orchestra, as an active cultural envoy between China and the United States, has visited China 12 times, playing a positive role in promoting the development of China-U.S. relations. Fifty years on, The Philadelphia Orchestra will present performances in China again alongside the China National Symphony Orchestra and vocalists from various countries, which will go down in history as a cherished memory.

Stressing that music transcends borders and culture builds bridges between countries, Xi Jinping expressed the hope that The Philadelphia Orchestra and artists from China, the United States and other countries in the world will work together to uphold equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness among civilizations, and strengthen exchanges and cooperation to advance artistic prosperity, and write a new chapter of people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and the United States and friendship among all the people in the world.

The Philadelphia Orchestra made its first visit to China in September 1973, becoming the first U.S. orchestra to visit China after the founding of the People's Republic of China. President and CEO of The Philadelphia Orchestra Matías Tarnopolsky recently wrote a letter to President Xi Jinping, reviewing the history of the orchestra's exchanges with China and introducing the activities to be held in China in November this year to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its first visit to China. He expressed the hope to continue to build bridges of exchanges between the two peoples and cultures through music.