Among the various festive events I was invited to attend along the general theme of celebrating Chinese New Year, the one hosted by the Bay Area Council on Wednesday was far more than a jubilant party.

At its annual Chinese New Year gala, the business association, which was established in 1945 in San Francisco, honored Chinese-American businesswoman and renowned overseas community leader and philanthropist, Florence Fang, with a global leadership award.

Fang, 84, is the first recipient of such an award in the Bay Area Council's 75-year-history. Over the years, she has been dedicated to constructing bridges of friendship and understanding between Chinese and Americans, especially the young generation.

In 2008, Fang began financing — on a $2.5 million budget — the five-year construction of a building at Peking University for teaching foreigners Chinese language and culture.

The only request she made was for the installation of an open area in the building to function as an international hall where students and scholars from around the world could meet.

In early 2013, Fang donated $1 million to help launch the 100,000 Strong Foundation as one of its founding members. The nonprofit planned to send 100,000 American students to study in China within four years as a component of the people-to-people exchanges initiative orchestrated by US and Chinese leaders. The mission has been a success, Fang said.

Many dignitaries attending the ceremony represented a wide range of society: Fortune 500 company heads, local, county and state officials from California, representatives from the Chinese government and local ethnic groups.

In the context of the ongoing China-US trade talks, many observers interpreted the award-granting as an explicit statement by the Bay Area Council that the world's two largest economies should engage with each other to solve any problems through communication rather than confrontation.

Jim Wunderman, president and CEO of the Bay Area Council, recalled that the "real history of cooperation" between the US and China dated to World War II, "where we fought jointly to preserve two societies".

"We have such a strong community from China here in San Francisco, the oldest Chinatown in America," he said. Chinese Americans make up about one-quarter of the Bay Area population, the largest Asian-American group.

He allowed that competition exists between China and the United States, however, the best way to deal with differences is "through conversation, discussion, engagement", because "there's much more in common than that (which) separates us".

Tariffs and finger-pointing should cease, as "they do not do any good, and it's not helping", Wunderman said. The relationship with China is "pervasive", and "we should not treat China as an adversary", he added.

Chinese Consul General in San Francisco Wang Donghua spoke eloquently about the importance of the US-China economic relationship. The current trade dispute will be solved, he assured.

The Bay Area Council has forged ahead in pushing for close economic and trade ties between China and the United States, with a focus on California and San Francisco in particular. The council opened a Beijing office in 2018, after gradually setting foot in Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou.

"The more we get to know each other, the better off we're going to be," said Del Christensen, the council's international business development chief.

The Year of the Pig is characterized by generosity and prosperity, Fang told attendees. "In 2019, we will all receive what we work hardest for."

Contact the writer at junechang@chinadailyusa.com