On February 2nd, the Consulate General of China in Chicago held Chinese New Year Celebration Gala of "YES Friends". Deputy Consul General Zhang Yiqi attended and addressed the event. More than 90 people, including principals, teachers and students from local high schools as well as some Chinese Suzhou embroidery artists, gathered together to celebrate the upcoming New Year of the Horse.

In her speech, Deputy Consul General Zhang spoke about China-U.S. relations, noting that over 40,000 American youth have visited China under the important initiative of "inviting 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study over the next five years" proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2023, where they have made new friends, learned a new language, experienced Chinese culture, and gained a deeper understanding of present-day China. She hoped that more and more young people from China and the U.S. will enhance mutual understanding, and join hands to become new-generation envoys of the bilateral friendship, so as to keep injecting impetus into the growth of China-U.S. relations.

During the gala, American students and Chinese artists performed Chinese New Year songs, Guzheng, lion dance, Chinese dance, and wrote and draw Chinese calligraphy and painting. They also got the chance to experience intangible cultural heritage Suzhou embroidery under the guidance of the artists.