BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday sent a message to the 14th China-U.S. Tourism Leadership Summit held in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

Noting that this year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, Xi said the foundation of China-U.S. relations is laid by the people, the door of China-U.S. relations is opened by the people, the stories of China-U.S. relations are written by the people, and the future of China-U.S. relations will be jointly created by the people of the two countries.

Xi said that tourism is an important bridge for exchanges and mutual understanding between the people of China and the United States. "We warmly welcome American tourists to travel to China, meet Chinese friends, experience Chinese culture, visit beautiful landscapes and experience the real China."

It is hoped that all walks of life in the two countries will take this summit as an opportunity to have in-depth exchanges, build consensus, and take active actions to promote personnel exchanges through tourism cooperation, continue China-U.S. friendship with cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and help the San Francisco vision turn into reality, Xi said.

The summit opened in Xi'an on the same day, with the theme of "Expanding China-U.S. Travel and Tourism and People-to-people Exchanges." It is co-hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China, the People's Government of Shaanxi Province, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and Brand USA.