Chinese President Xi Jinping replied to a letter from a group of students from Muscatine High School in the US who visited China during the Chinese Dragon Year Lantern Festival, sending them and the entire school's faculty and students New Year's greetings and welcoming more American teenagers to China for exchanges and studies. Students from the Muscatine High School visiting delegation and American friends who were interviewed by this reporter said that President Xi Jinping's reply shows his importance and support for youth exchanges, people-to-people exchanges, and friendship between the US and China, and is very encouraging. They hope to gather the strength of the two peoples to implement the project of inviting 50,000 American teenagers to China for exchanges and studies over five years, continuing the friendship between the US and China, and jointly writing a new chapter in the friendly story between the two peoples.

“This trip gave me a deeper understanding of China.”

In his reply, President Xi Jinping said, “Your handwriting in the letter is beautiful, and the hand-drawn Chinese dragons, the Great Wall, and the pandas are very vivid! I am very happy to hear that you have visited several cities, seen pandas, tasted Chinese food, and experienced Chinese culture, and that you feel ‘super happy.’ I heard that you have made many Chinese friends and invited them to visit your hometown, and the friendship you have forged is touching.”

“We are very excited to receive President Xi Jinping's reply. We wrote to express our gratitude, because without President Xi Jinping's support, we wouldn't have been able to make this trip to China.” Cole Luce, a sophomore at Muscatine High School, has been studying Chinese for three years. During his visit to China, he communicated in both English and Chinese and made many Chinese friends. He said, “China is a beautiful country with a profound and extensive culture. This trip gave me a deeper understanding of China.”

In November 2023, during President Xi Jinping's visit to the US, he announced that China would invite 50,000 American teenagers to China for exchanges and studies over the next five years. Sarah Lanty, a friend from Iowa, recently wrote to President Xi expressing her hope that Muscatine High School would participate in this program. With President Xi's care, from January 24 to 30, more than 20 students from Muscatine High School, as the first group of American high school students to participate in this project, conducted exchange visits in Beijing, Hebei, and Shanghai. Upon arriving in Beijing, the delegation brought gifts to President Xi, including a school flag with the Chinese characters “Grandpa Xi, we've arrived.”

“We are very encouraged by President Xi's reply.” Guo Qianyu is a Chinese teacher at Muscatine High School. She went to China for the exchange visit with the students. She said that the visit broadened the students' horizons and they shared their experiences in China with other students upon their return. “Many students said they want to continue learning Chinese, study in China in the future, carry on the friendship between the US and China, and contribute to enhancing friendship between the two peoples.”

“My trip to China opened my eyes; it was a life-changing journey!” Leo Regennit, a student from Muscatine High School, said that the most impressive thing for him was the majestic Great Wall, whose visual impact far surpassed the photos.

2911 Bonnie Street in Muscatine is known to the locals as the "US-China Friendship House," located near Muscatine High School. Regennit said he is very familiar with the friendly story between President Xi Jinping and Muscatine. In February this year, in Muscatine, local students and visiting Chinese students celebrated the Spring Festival together. “Through such activities, I learned a lot about traditional Chinese culture. China is so vast, I really want to go back again. I will study Chinese hard and go to China again for study and exchange,” Regennit said.

“The more contact we have in the fields of culture and education, the more trust we can build.”

President Xi Jinping pointed out, “There is a Chinese saying: ‘Seeing is believing.’ When I first visited the United States in 1985, I was deeply impressed by the warm and friendly American people. I believe that through this exchange visit, you will also have a more intuitive and in-depth understanding of China and the Chinese people. I welcome you to come to China again, and I also welcome more American teenagers to come to China for exchanges and studies to experience a real, three-dimensional, and comprehensive China, to make friends and learn from each other with Chinese teenagers, and to contribute to enhancing friendship between the two peoples.”

“The China I saw is very different from the China reported by some American media. The Chinese people, like the American people, hope for a better life and a better world. Our cultures may be different, but any culture deserves respect.” Luce said that some Americans have prejudice against China, “Through more exchanges and communication, we can reduce prejudice, increase understanding, and build friendship.”

Michael Fowler, Executive Director of the World Trade Center in Tacoma, Washington, said that people-to-people exchanges can promote mutual understanding, and strengthened exchanges and interactions between American and Chinese teenagers can help enhance friendship between the two peoples. “In many key areas, the US and China need to maintain a stable and healthy relationship. I believe that both countries can find common ground and continue to develop our relationship on this basis.”

“In the classroom, we encourage students to grasp first-hand materials. For American students visiting China, they can learn real information in China that has not been filtered by Western media.” Greg Lewis, a history professor at Weber State University in Utah, said, “The more contact we have in the fields of culture and education, the more trust we can build. We hope that both the US and China will better facilitate people-to-people exchanges through measures such as visa simplification.”

“Establishing more cross-cultural exchanges between teenagers in the US and China will help stabilize US-China relations and deepen mutual understanding.” Dennis Simon, a distinguished researcher at the US-China Research Center, said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” The visit to China by the faculty and students of Muscatine High School is a new starting point for people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. We look forward to more American teenagers coming to China for exchanges and studies in the future.”

“The US and China will benefit from more interaction between their peoples.”

Hope for US-China relations lies in the people, its foundation is at the grassroots level, its future is in the youth, and its vitality is in local areas. President Xi Jinping places hope on the friendship between the Chinese and American peoples, personally caring for and promoting people-to-people exchanges and local cooperation between the two countries. American friends from all walks of life look forward to planting the seeds of US-China friendship in the hearts of young people through bilateral exchange programs.

Muscatine High School is preparing for its next exchange trip to China. Skye Foster, a 16-year-old student, said that a classmate visited China in January, climbed the Great Wall, tasted delicious food, visited traditional buildings, and experienced Chinese culture, which was “very cool.” This makes her look forward to her own trip to China in April. “Going to China, I want to observe China with my eyes and listen to China with my ears. I also hope to make new friends and learn about the study and life of Chinese peers.”

“US-China people-to-people exchanges are of great significance to the overall development of bilateral relations. We hope that both sides will continue to encourage youth exchanges and implement the project of inviting 50,000 American teenagers to China for exchanges and studies over five years,” said Adam Foster, chairman of the Helen Foster Snow Foundation. “We hope that young people from both countries can get together, understand each other, and learn to communicate and cooperate with each other. The US and China will benefit from more interaction between their peoples.”

Luca Belon, a board member of the Iowa-China Friendship Committee, said, “Exchanges between American and Chinese teenagers help promote mutual understanding. Inviting 50,000 American teenagers to China for exchanges and studies over five years is of great significance to promoting relations and enhancing mutual understanding between the peoples of the US and China.” Belon said that continuous exchanges, contacts, and interactions among young people are the basis for a more stable and healthy US-China relationship. Cooperation between the US and China is crucial, whether from an economic and trade perspective or from the perspective of human progress.

(Xinhua Washington, Beijing, February 25)

People's Daily (February 26, 2024, 03 edition) (Reporters Li Zhiwei, Zhang Penghui)