Interview: People

Wesley Gabrielson (L), captain of the Oregon Friendship Pickleball men's team, plays pickleball with Chinese player Liu Mingyang (C) and Tang Yutong during the 2026 China-U.S. Friendship Pickleball Event held in Shangyou County of Ganzhou City, east China's Jiangxi Province, May 9, 2026.  (Xinhua/Hu Chenhuan)

People-to-people ties serve as a foundation of U.S.-China relations, and young people can be great envoys of friendship, said an American expert on bilateral relations.

by Xinhua writer Liu Yanan

NEW YORK, June 15 (Xinhua) -- People-to-people ties serve as a foundation of U.S.-China relations, and young people can be great envoys of friendship, said an American expert on bilateral relations.

Interactions among people help stabilize bilateral relations when the two countries disagree on various issues, said David Firestein, president and CEO of the George H. W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations, in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Youths have the greatest stake in the future of the bilateral relationship, as they will deal with the issue for a much longer period than the current generation of adults, said Firestein on the sidelines of the China Institute of America centennial gala.

"That's why it's really important that our young people in the United States get to understand China better than we currently do as a nation. Likewise, it's very important for the Chinese young people to understand the United States," he said.

Participants taking part in a China-U.S. youth exchange program visit the music museum of Wuhan Conservatory of Music in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, June 8, 2024.  (Xinhua/Du Zixuan)

Given the fact that China has a lot more students studying in the United States than the United States does in China, "the imbalance is one that we should try to correct in the United States," said Firestein, who was also a former American diplomat.

"The more that young people in America know China, the better for the U.S.-China relationship as well as for our country," Firestein told Xinhua.

Since the launch of the initiative of inviting 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs in a five-year span in November 2023, over 50,000 young Americans have visited China, achieving the target two-and-a-half years ahead of schedule, said Chinese President Xi Jinping recently in replying to a letter from participants of "A Shared Voyage: China-U.S. Youth Friendship Program."

A young American experiences shadow play at Wuhan Conservatory of Music in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, June 8, 2024. (Xinhua/Du Zixuan)

The initiative plays a positive role in nurturing people-to-people friendship between the two countries, and its early fulfillment shows that China is very committed to doing its part and to fostering dialogue between the young people of both countries, said Firestein.

"I really respect the work that China is doing and has successfully done in bringing so many American young people over to China for short visits, but I'd like to see far larger numbers of American college students study in China for a semester or for a year," Firestein told Xinhua.

The longer the visit, the more deeply they'll understand China, he added.

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)

"I think the United States needs to do more, and I hope we'll see more," he said.

Spending time in another country, new experiences, friends, language skills and deeper cultural understandings are "really valuable when it comes to creating a solid foundation for a bilateral relationship," Firestein said.

In the above-mentioned letter, Xi called on more Chinese and U.S. youth to take up the baton of friendship, learn from each other, progress together, and become "envoys of friendship" bridging the Pacific.

"I agree with everything that President Xi said with respect to the importance of young people in building those people-to-people ties between our countries," Firestein said.

Regarding his foundation, Firestein said it strives to help build "a stronger U.S.-China relationship, because we believe that's really important."  ■