People-to-people exchanges key to ties

The Doolittle Raid in World War II has been, and always will be remembered as a testament to enduring friendship between China and the United States.

On April 18, 1942, just months after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the US sent 16 B-25 bombers on an air raid to strike Japan's main islands. After bombing Tokyo and other Japanese cities, Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle and his fellow pilots, facing fuel shortages and bad weather, were forced to parachute over the eastern parts of China. Local Chinese launched a massive rescue operation, and helped 64 of the 80 US pilots escape to safety, many of whom found refuge in Quzhou, Zhejiang province.

The Chinese people paid a heavy price for their kindness and bravery: some 250,000 civilians were killed by Japanese troops seeking revenge for the raid.