Ms. Elisa Autry,

Ms. Holly Zardus,

Superintendent Antoinette Mitchell,  

Chairman Jeffrey Greene,

Chairman Adam Foster,

Chairman Ni Pin ,

Friends old and new,

Good evening! To start with, let me extend a warm welcome to all of you coming to our Embassy from all over the United States.

At this event, you shared your personal stories, and pooled wisdom for a brighter future of China-U.S. youth exchanges. This is much needed today. Although we are meeting in winter, I can sense the freshness of spring with so many young friends joining us, the vigor of summer as I see a lot of old friends who have long supported China-U.S. friendship, and also the abundance of autumn as we review what has been achieved in youth exchanges. 

In November last year, President Xi Jinping announced in San Francisco that “China is ready to invite 50,000 young Americans to China on exchange and study programs in the next five years.” To implement the initiative, China has set up a YES program — the Young Envoys Scholarship. Over the past year, President Xi invited the American youth to visit China on multiple occasions, which was warmly received here in the States.  

From the state of Washington to Texas, from New York to California, from Cascade Elementary School to Muscatine High School and Lincoln High School and to Harvard University and Princeton University, students from around the States have actively participated. So far, about 14,000 young Americans have been to China for exchange or study under the initiative. For many of them, it was their first time taking a flight, going abroad and visiting China. The initiative has provided an effective platform that brings our youths closer, opened up an important window for better understanding China, and ushered in a new chapter of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples.

After returning from China, many American teachers and students have written to President Xi to share their stories during the trip. These are stories of our youths reaching out to each other. They played basketball friendlies, sang together folk songs, and planted trees of goodwill. They also learned about each other’s hobbies, challenges and dreams, and discussed a wide range of topics including education, public health and scientific innovation. For them, this could be the start of a lifelong friendship. 

An American student recalled that, on the first day it was like oil and water, with the American students sitting on one side of the room and the Chinese on the opposite. But by the end of the camp, you could see Americans sitting with Chinese kids laughing, making jokes and all in all having a good time. Another American student said the number of his friends on Wechat grew from five to over 70, and they promised to stay in touch and see each other again. 

These are also stories of our friendship being carried on from generation to generation. The American youth got an immersive experience of Chinese culture, tasted Chinese cuisines, learned to write their Chinese names with an ink brush, cycled along Beijing’s central axis, and did research on China’s targeted poverty alleviation policy in the rural areas. All along the way, they have taken the pulse of the both ancient and modern Chinese civilization from multiple dimensions, and sown seeds of goodwill.

Among the teachers visiting China was Professor Thomas Buoye (from the University of Tulsa), who studied in China 40 years ago. This time, he took his son to Beijing and introduced him to the sons and daughters of his old friends there. During the trip, young Thomas developed a keen interest in green development and decided to pursue further studies in the field. 

It is inspiring to witness the tree of goodwill between our two peoples continuing to flourish, and it is even more exciting to see our young people coming together for a better future.

Dear friends,

As a Chinese saying goes, “Do not just read thousands of books; travel thousands of miles also.” Over 170 years ago, Yung Wing sailed across the vast Pacific to become the first Chinese student studying in the United States, opening the door for mutual learning between our youths. Over 80 years ago, the American “Flying Tigers” headed to the battlefield in China in the World Anti-Fascist War, to fight for peace side by side with the Chinese people. American journalist Edgar Snow travelled all the way to Yan’an, sharing the true story about China to the world. 

Since our two countries reopened our doors to each other in the 1970s, around 2.4 million Chinese students have come to study in the United States. They have not only played a part in China’s modernization drive, but also brought huge economic benefits and a wealth of science talents to the United States, and made unique contributions to human progress. 

While such people-to-people exchanges have come under some headwinds in the past few years, good news keeps coming with our joint efforts. The number of direct flights between our two countries has increased to 100 per week. The Philadelphia Orchestra held 9 concerts in its 10-day tour across China. The U.S. Department of State has downgraded the China travel advisory to level 2. Giant pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao will meet the public at the National Zoo next month. Applying for a visa to China is easier and takes less time. In particular, American students who are part of the YES program can get a five-year F visa with multiple entries for free. Encouraged by the “50,000 in five years” initiative and the 144-hour visa-free transit policy, many young Americans have embarked on a journey to China. 

Frankly speaking, though, these are still far from enough. We need to continue removing disruptions, stay undaunted by the chilling effect, oppose any backpedaling, and move forward hand in hand, so as to build more bridges for people-to-people exchanges and inject constant impetus into China-U.S. relations. 

Dear friends,

We are living in a turbulent and fluid world where challenges abound. But at the same time, it also brims with new opportunities for development and progress. The China-U.S. relationship is again at a crossroads. So where should it be heading?

President Xi Jinping has made China’s stance clear: our goal of a stable, healthy and sustainable China-U.S. relationship remains unchanged. Our commitment to handling the relationship in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation remains unchanged. Our position of resolutely safeguarding our sovereignty, security and development interests remains unchanged. And our desire to carry forward the traditional friendship between the Chinese and American peoples remains unchanged. 

This has fully shown the stability and consistency of China’s policy toward the United States, and has also brought certainty and positive energy to this volatile world. We hope the U.S. side will move with us in the same direction, enhance dialogue and communication, properly manage differences, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, and find the right way for our two countries to get along in the new era. 

Dear young friends,

The future of the world is in your hands, and the hope of China-U.S. relations lies in you. I encourage you to take up the baton of history, and stand up to your responsibility for fostering a stable, sound and sustainable China-U.S. relationship. 

I hope you will be pioneers in developing a right perception toward each other. Travel the expanse of China with your own feet. See the country with your own eyes. Feel it with your heart. Think independently, break out of the box, and form an objective and rational view of China.

I hope you will be doers in advancing dialogue and cooperation. We welcome more young Americans to be part of the “50,000 in five years” initiative, and be partners and friends with your Chinese peers. We also encourage universities in both countries to enhance exchanges and cooperation in various forms, so that drop by drop, our efforts will merge into a mighty river.

I also hope you will be trailblazers in making the world a better place. We count on you, side by side with your Chinese peers, to jointly tackle global challenges such as climate change and AI, and contribute your wisdom to building a world of peace, development and cooperation.

So in that spirit, let’s together say YES to exchanges and cooperation between China and the United States, say YES to our peoples’ friendship, and say YES to a brighter future for the youths in both China and the United States!

Thank you very much.