Mayors and elected officials from Northern California,?United States, gathered on Thursday evening at the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco to celebrate the Chinese New Year with the overseas Chinese community, underscoring the importance of building bridges of friendship.

Under a crimson banner reading "Embracing the Chinese New Year", Consul-General Zhang Jianmin welcomed hundreds of attendees from across the Bay Area. In his remarks, Zhang highlighted China's successful completion of the 14th Five-Year Plan.

"Chinese modernization has delivered one encouraging result after another," Zhang said, noting that new quality productive forces are accelerating growth. He added that China's cultural and creative industries are gaining popularity in the global market. The country's GDP grew by 5 percent, with total economic output surpassing 140 trillion yuan (around $20 trillion) to reach a new high.

"China's steady growth has injected valuable certainty and strong momentum into the world economy," Zhang said.

California and the San Francisco Bay Area continue to lead in advancing China-US friendship, he added. More than 3,200 students and faculty members from the consular district traveled to China under the "50,000 in Five Years" initiative, representing a nearly 60 percent year-on-year increase.

Over the past year, exchanges between the consular district and China have remained robust, with subnational cooperation demonstrating strong vitality, Zhang said. Multiple delegations of political leaders and legislators visited China, while key economic and trade missions exchanged visits, resulting in tangible cooperation outcomes. States across the district actively participated in the China International Import Expo. Among them, California has taken part for eight consecutive years and leads in scale.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie echoed those sentiments, praising people-to-people exchanges and the stable relationship between San Francisco and China, particularly its sister-city partnership with Shanghai.

"Last summer, our students traveled to Shanghai and Shenzhen," Lurie said, adding that such friendship-building trips will help sustain the partnership for the "next 60 years".

"Our two communities share deeply personal ties," Lurie continued, recalling visits from San Francisco to Guangdong province, the ancestral home of many Chinese immigrants who came to the US as early as the 19th century, contributing to the American economy and establishing the nation's oldest Chinatown.

"The Chinese community is not only part of our story, but part of our foundation," he said. "Your contributions help make San Francisco a world-class city."

Xiao Yan Chen, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, said she visited Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou last year to further strengthen friendship and promote mutually beneficial cooperation.

"Friendship matters," Chen said, adding that her background as a Chinese immigrant — fluent in two languages and familiar with two cultures — enables her to better "build bridges" between communities.

Zhang also noted that a recent social media trend titled "Becoming Chinese" has gone viral.

"Chinese people's daily life, cuisine, lifestyle and pop culture are attracting a growing number of followers and fans," he said.

"With increasingly convenient cross-border travel, we warmly welcome more American friends to visit China in person — to 'Live the China Vibe' and experience Chinese charm and vitality for themselves," Zhang added.