The 2016 China-U.S. Tourism Year has closed in the U-S capital, Washington D.C. The initiative was proposed by the presidents of the two countries in September last year to boost people-to-people exchanges.

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker attended the closing ceremony and read the congratulatory letters sent by Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Barack Obama.

Wang pointed out that both China and the U.S. are major countries in terms of tourist resources and markets. China is willing to work with the US to facilitate cross-border travel, boost investment in tourism and encourage cooperation between companies from both countries in the sector.

Pritzker said as she read the congratulatory letter sent by President Obama that the China-U.S. Tourism Year has promoted mutual understanding and deepened people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. The US government encourages and supports the expansion of exchange and cooperation between the two countries in tourism.

More than 1,000 guests from both China and the US attended the closing ceremony.

The 2016 China-U.S. Tourism Year was announced last year after President Xi's state visit to the U.S.

Statistics from the China National Tourism Administration show that the number of Chinese tourists to the US rose 15.5 percent year-on-year to about 2.2 million in the first eight months of 2016. The number of US tourists to China increased 7.5 percent year-on-year to some 1.7 million in the first nine months of 2016.