President Xi Jinping replies to letter from Chinese, US students in friendship programme

From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja

Chinese President Xi Jinping has replied to a letter from Chinese and United States students participating in a programme titled “A Shared Voyage: China-U.S. Youth Friendship Program”.

Xi, in the letter, said he was pleased to learn that students from the two countries had taken an unforgettable friendship voyage aboard the China-United States Youth Friendship vessel.

Recently, Chinese and United States students participating in the “A Shared Voyage: China-U.S. Youth Friendship Program” wrote to President Xi Jinping, expressing gratitude for the “50,000 in Five Years” initiative, which has provided valuable opportunities for young people from both countries to study and engage in exchanges.

Xi, in the letter dated May 23, 2026, said: “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.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China said that since President Xi launched the initiative to invite 50,000 young Americans to China for exchanges and study over five years in November 2023, more than 50,000 young Americans have visited China for exchanges, achieving the target two and a half years ahead of schedule.

“In the course of interactions, young people of China and the United States have reached out to one another, deepened mutual understanding, built profound friendship and turned a new page in the friendly exchanges between the two peoples,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China said.

Xi Jinping pointed out that young people are full of vitality and dreams.

“They represent the future and hope of China-U.S. relations, and also of the world,” Xi stated.

He expressed hope that more young people from both countries would take up the baton of bilateral friendship, learn from one another and progress together, act as “envoys of friendship” bridging the Pacific Ocean, and make new contributions to the stable, sound and sustainable development of China-United States relations.