China sets great store on exchanges among young people worldwide. During his state visit to France, when Chinese President Xi Jinping met the press on May 6 with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, he emphasized their consensus on accelerating people-to-people exchanges. France will be the country of honor at this year’s China Annual Conference and Expo for International Education while in the next three years, the number of French students in China is expected to cross 10,000, and the number of young Europeans on exchange programs to China to double. 

China will also invite 50,000 young people from the U.S. over the next five years. This was disclosed by Xi in a letter to an American friend, Sarah Lande in Iowa. Besides, Chinese schools are encouraged to establish cooperation programs with their foreign counterparts with more students receiving exposure to foreign cultures and forming bonds with foreign peers, thus acquiring a global outlook. 

These young people are becoming carriers of friendship, envoys of cultures, and promoters of cross-cultural understanding, deepening the bond among their countries. This issue’s Special Report focuses on these young people’s stories in international exchanges.