The story of China-U.S. friendship is written by the people, and the future of China-U.S. relations is shaped by the youth.
In late 2023, China announced a program to invite 50,000 American youths to China in the next five years for exchanges and study.
Over the past three years, China has hosted more than 50,000 young Americans for exchanges and study visits, hitting the five-year target set in 2023. The U.S. young visitors, from the country’s 50 states and Washington, D.C., reached across China’s 31 provincial-level regions as well as Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions. They participated in activities as diverse as learning languages, summer and winter camps, sports competitions, and academic studies for credits or degrees.
The exchanges bridged information gaps, strengthened goodwill and contributed to stable, healthy and sustainable bilateral ties.
Via interactions, young people from both countries have reached out to one another, deepened mutual understanding and built lasting friendships, opening a new chapter in people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States.
Students from the United States learn Chinese ancient poems at a school in Shijiazhuang, north China’s Hebei Province, April 11, 2026. (Xinhua/Lu Ye)
An American student from U.S. state Iowa experiences Qixi traditions during a cultural event at Shijiazhuang Foreign Language School in Shijiazhuang, north China’s Hebei Province, Aug. 10, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Xiao)
Members of a delegation of high school students from the U.S. state of Washington experience China’s school life at Shenzhen Nanshan Foreign Language Senior High School in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong Province, March 25, 2024. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)
Members of a delegation of high school students from the U.S. state of Washington experience Chinese calligraphy at Shenzhen Nanshan Foreign Language Senior High School in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong Province, March 25, 2024. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)
Source: Xinhua