Xi says education exchanges matter to future of China-U.S. ties

BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has said that China-U.S. education exchanges and cooperation, a project for the future of bilateral relations, help promote mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples, especially between the youths of the two countries.

In a recent reply letter to Lamont Repollet, president of Kean University in the United States, Xi encouraged universities in China and the United States to strengthen exchanges and cooperation and contribute to the China-U.S. friendship.

Xi recalled that in 2006, he witnessed the signing ceremony of China-U.S. cooperation in establishing Wenzhou-Kean University.

Thanks to the joint efforts of both sides, Wenzhou-Kean University has achieved remarkable results and become a landmark project in China-U.S. educational cooperation, which is very gratifying, he said.

He pointed out that China-U.S. ties bear on the well-being of the two peoples as well as the future of humanity.

Xi applauded Repollet's pledge to deepen cooperation with Wenzhou-Kean University and encourage U.S. students to come to China for exchange and study.

He also called on universities of China and the United States to strengthen exchanges and cooperation through various forms, and cultivate young envoys who know both countries well, thereby building more bridges to promote China-U.S. friendship.

Xi welcomed Repollet and other members of the U.S. education community to pay more visits to China and asked Repollet to convey his greetings to Dawood Farahi, former president of Kean University.

In May 2006, under the care and facilitation of Xi, then secretary of the Communist Party of China Zhejiang Provincial Committee, Wenzhou University and Kean University formally signed an agreement to jointly establish Wenzhou-Kean University.

In 2014, with the approval of China's Ministry of Education, Wenzhou-Kean University was officially established. Currently, it has about 4,500 students across undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs, and over 3,300 have earned their undergraduate degrees over the past eight years.

Repollet has lately sent a letter to Xi, expounding on the situation and achievements of cooperative education, and voicing readiness to actively respond to Xi's initiative, help more American teenagers come to China for exchanges and study, and promote communication between the younger generation of China and the United States.