On September 13, the Consulate General of China in Chicago held the launch ceremony of the YES Friends Club. Consul General Wang Baodong attended and addressed the event, which was joined by over 50 people including teachers and students from local high schools and universities, parents and representatives of a choir that visited China.

In his speech, Consul General Wang spoke about China-U.S. relations, noting that nearly 5,000 American teenagers from the consular district 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 and positive results have achieved. The YES Friends Club will help enhance the bond of friendship between Chinese and American young people and sustain the chapter of friendship through essay and short video contests, sports and cultural events, among others. He encouraged the students to keep up with their Chinese learning, stay in touch with their Chinese friends, and serve as envoys of people-to-people friendship between China and the United States and contribute to the growth of bilateral relations.

In the exchange of views session, teachers and students who have visited China gave vivid accounts of the real, multidimensional and ever progressing China as they saw it, and said that they would actively contribute to the friendly interactions between the United States and China.