Piece of history - Washington

Former US President Jimmy Carter autographs his latest book: A Full Life: Refl ections at Ninety at Politics & Prose book store in Washington on July 9. In the book, Carter described the normalization of diplomatic ties with China as one of the most important decisions he made. Chen Weihua / China Daily

Bravo, maestro! - New York

Tan Dun (center with hand extended), whose new work Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and Birds was played by the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA) at New York City's Carnegie Hall on July 11, takes a bow on stage with conductor Charles Dutoit. The NYO-USA, freaturing 114 young musicians (ages 16-19), kicked off its seven-city tour of China with performances scheduled for July 15-26. Hong Xiao / For China Daily

Happy New Year - New York

New York Assemblyman Ron Kim (second from right) acknowledges New York state Senator Daniel Squadron (third from right) for his work in helping pass S4648, which established the Asian Lunar New Year as a public school holiday, on July 10 at Kim's office in Flushing, Queens. For years, Squadron and his team pushed to make Lunar New Year an offi cial school holiday. On June 23, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city's public schools will close next year for the holiday. Hong Xiao / For China Daily

Making a point - Washington

From left: Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress (CAP); Yang Jiemian, senior fellow and chairman of the Council of Academic Aff airs at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS); Rudi deLeon, a senior fellow at CAP; Wu Chusi, a senior fellow at SIIS, and moderator Vikram Singh, vice-president of National Security and International Policy at CAP, hold a seminar at CAP on Monday exploring China-US cooperation in the Middle East. Chen Weihua / China Daily

Ready for art - Los Angeles

Joining a press conference for the upcoming Cave Temples of Dunhuang exhibition at the Getty Museum are, from left: Timothy Whalen, director of the Getty Conservation Institute; Mimi Gates, chair of the Dunhuang Foundation; Jim Cuno, president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust; Ted Lipman, CEO of the Robert H. N. Ho Foundation; Emily Wang, director of marketing and community development at East West Bank; Thomas Gaehtgens, director of the Getty Research Institute; Wang Xudong, director of the Dunhuang Academy; and Che Zhaohe, cultural counselor at the Consulate General of China in Los Angeles. Provided To China Daily

Strategic study - Washington

Christine Wormuth (left), US undersecretary of defense for policy, talks at a military strategy forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington on Monday when she described US-China relations as both very cooperative and competitive. At right is Kathleen Hicks of CSIS.Chen Weihua / China Daily

Get the phone - New York

Lixin Cheng, chairman and CEO of ZTE USA, displays the Axon, his company's new premium smartphone for the US market which was introduced Tuesday in New York. The Axon was developed from surveys and feedback from American consumers.Provided To China Daily

Select students - New York

Chinese Consul in New York Chang Quansheng (sxith from left) poses with students in the Cross Cultural Internship Program (CCIP) at a recognition ceremony at Citi Field in New York on July 10. The CCIP is a summer program for Asian exchange visitors to acquire practical experience and gain insights into American society, values, people, business practices and professional culture. Hong Xiao / For China Daily