China’s first lady Peng Liyuan told a group of Chinese and American students that a “tree of friendship” between the two countries can be nurtured through travel experiences, as she attended a friendly basketball match between the high school teams in Beijing on Tuesday.
The sports and culture event, billed as a “Shared Journey for China-US Friendship”, was held at the Beijing No. 8 High School on Tuesday afternoon. It welcomed a youth delegation from 10 high schools in the US state of Washington, who recently toured the provinces of Guizhou, Sichuan and Shandong.
Peng said she hoped that the young people of both countries can “know each other better” and “inject positive energy into bilateral relations”, adding that future ties rest on them, according to a readout from state news agency Xinhua.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.
Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan watches routines by Chinese and US student cheerleaders on Tuesday in Beijing. Photo: Xinhua alt=Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan watches routines by Chinese and US student cheerleaders on Tuesday in Beijing. Photo: Xinhua>
After watching the match between the Chinese and US teams, Peng presented the students with commemorative medals, while noting that the trip had “helped forge a deep friendship” between the two sides. The players also sang Chinese and English songs together.
The American students were invited by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, an official people-to-people diplomacy organisation that aims to “enhance people’s friendship, further international cooperation, safeguard world peace and promote common development”.
Their visit was part of an initiative by President Xi Jinping to invite 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programmes over five years. It was announced during his visit to San Francisco last November, when he attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit.
During the trip, Xi also welcomed US governors, congressional members and “people from all walks of life” to visit China, saying “the hope of the China-US relationship lies in the people, its foundation is in our societies, its future depends on the youth, and its vitality comes from exchanges at subnational levels”.
Peng Liyuan, China’s first lady poses for a group photo with Chinese and US students at Beijing No. 8 High School on Tuesday. Photo: Xinhua alt=Peng Liyuan, China’s first lady poses for a group photo with Chinese and US students at Beijing No. 8 High School on Tuesday. Photo: Xinhua>
Story continues
On Tuesday, Peng said she hoped that the American students would “share their experiences with their families, friends and classmates when they return to the United States … carry home the friendship of the Chinese people”, and “help nurture the ‘tree of friendship’ between the two peoples”.
Peng was a renowned soprano with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). She and Xi married in 1987 as she was pursuing a master’s degree in acoustics at the China Conservatory of Music and Xi was the vice-mayor of Xiamen.
The couple last visited Washington state together in 2015, where they watched a choir performance by Chinese and American students at Lincoln High School. The school’s assistant principal, who was also at Tuesday’s event, said he would like to “actively contribute to promoting mutual understanding between China and the US”.
At least 60 bilateral youth exchanges, consisting mostly of students, took place across 20 provinces in China in the first half of this year, according to the Centre for China and Globalisation (CCG), a Beijing-based think tank.
An event in July, hosted by the Hong Kong-based China-United States Exchange Foundation, gathered more than 500 young Chinese and Americans in southeastern Fuzhou, marking the largest youth exchange activity since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, CCG said.
While bilateral talks have increased over the past year – the latest being US climate envoy John Podesta’s trip to Beijing earlier this month – China remains classified as “Level 3” on the US state department’s travel advisory, meaning citizens are advised to “reconsider travel” to mainland China and “exercise increased caution” in Hong Kong.
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
