Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng met with Nicholas Burns, U.S. ambassador to China, on Mar. 27. The two sides reached a range of consensus on establishing institutional dialogue, promoting educational cooperation, enhancing personnel exchange, and expanding youth exchange, among other things.

Minister Huai said the summit meeting between Chinese and American presidents in Los Angeles last year showed clear direction for Sino-American collaboration in education. During the summit, President Xi Jinping had indicated that China was ready to invite 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs over the next five years in hopes of promoting exchange between the younger generations of both nations. Huai also said the Chinese Ministry of Education is willing to maintain regular communication and dialogue and conduct active and pragmatic cooperation with its U.S. counterpart, in order to facilitate youth exchange and safeguard the rights and interests of students studying in each other’s countries.

Ambassador Burns said that educational exchange and cooperation between China and the United States are the cornerstone of bilateral relations and that the “50,000 over five years” initiative holds significant importance for both countries. He also said that in the future he hopes to expand practical cooperation in the education sector and encourage more bilateral exchange between Chinese and American youth.