Flying Tigers serve as model for efforts to give wings to Sino-US relations

Tales of friendship forged in war offer timeless lessons on how efforts can be pursued to open the door wider to cooperation between China and the United States. That consensus emerged during an online event that envisaged not only a better future for the two countries but also for the world.

On Tuesday, participants gathered virtually to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Flying Tigers' arrival in China. The heroism of the US fighter pilots and the Chinese forces they served alongside were recounted at the event, which sought to help keep alive the spirit of cooperation in a world facing shared threats including the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.

"What we have learned from the story of the Flying Tigers is that, human beings are different in races, languages, and cultures, but for the sake of world peace and justice, as well as the welfare of all peoples around the world, the Chinese and American peoples are fully able to work in solidarity and fight side by side," said Lin Songtian, president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the organizer of the webinar.

In 1941, the volunteer pilots who went on to become celebrated as the Flying Tigers began to help China drive back the Japanese invaders.

They also flew over the Himalayas, helping to ship strategic supplies to China to help the Chinese break through the Japanese blockade. The US pilots left China in 1944.