I was once lucky enough to take part in the preparations for a China Daily Vision China event in New York titled China-US Relations: 40 Years & Beyond. I had been aware of the signing of the phase-one trade deal between China and the US through a longtime China Daily journalist's report from the East Room of the White House in Washington DC.

We journalists were a team to connect the world, to help different groups on the planet at least start to know each other. But in this case we met difficulties. Sixty Chinese journalists were expelled from the US. The remaining Chinese reporters in the US are currently under certain restrictions.

The situation reminds me of a wish made by a senior woman I interviewed that day in Times Square -- one much harder to realize in today's context.

"My wish was for people to be more tolerant and accepting of each other and I hope for a much better world," she said with a kind smile and steadiness in her eyes.

Being more tolerant and accepting should come after people communicate and get to know each other. This is especially true for the situation of China and the US, which are like two totally different people with deep-rooted mindsets.

Journalists have been doing their job over the past 40 years to help the two "strangers" with distinctive personalities connect, communicate and understand each other, until they become friends.

Those outcomes can't be achieved unless governments intend to connect with each other with respect and trust.

The large number of journalists expelled by the current US administration makes it harder for those outcomes to be reached and lessens journalists' ability to play their role of promoting connections in international society.