BEIJING, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) — 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)Chinese and American youth in traditional Chinese costumes, taking part in the “Across the Pacific: China-U.S. Youth Dialogue for a Shared Future” exchange program, pose for a group photo in Xi’an, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, July 14, 2025. (China International Communications Group Center for the Americas/Handout via Xinhua)A Chinese student introduces Cantonese food to members of a delegation of high school students from the U.S. state of Washington at Yongqingfang in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong Province, March 24, 2024. (Xinhua/Lu Hanxin)A member of the Whiffenpoofs a cappella choir of Yale University and a member of a local choir sing together at Zhaoxing Dong Village of Liping County, southwest China’s Guizhou Province, March 23, 2026. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)Chinese and American young musicians perform during a joint concert themed “Youth Dialogue for the Future” in New York, the United States, on June 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Fengguo)Teenagers from China and the United States sing during a closing performance of Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. Youth Choir Festival in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Lu Ye)
