U.S. - China People-To-People Exchange

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton recently hailed the importance of enhancing ties between American and Chinese people at the annual U.S.-China Consultation on People-to-People Exchange, which focuses on exchanges in education, science and technology, sports, culture and women’s issues.

The United States government is now sending more students to study in China than to any other country and welcomes more Chinese students who want to study in the United States. The U.S.-China Fulbright Program will double the number of Chinese students participating in the new Masters Program, and is expanding opportunities for Americans to learn Chinese.

The 100,000 Strong Initiative, which seeks to increase the number and diversity of Americans studying in China, has received pledges of over $15 million from private donors since its inception in 2010.

New programs in science cooperation include the Young Scientist Forum and Science and Technology in Society. Both programs are designed to enhance public dialogue on science, expand public understanding on the role of science in society, and explore issues of interest to young scientists.

Exchange and cooperation through sports continue to expand. The U.S. State Department’s SportsUnited office will send three basketball envoys to Northeastern China in June 2012 to help grow the game of women’s basketball. A group of Chinese high school-aged girls on a volleyball exchange program will visit the United States during the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Women’s Final Four Volleyball tournament. The U.S. and Chinese Olympic Committees presented a soccer game between the Chinese women’s national team and the U.S. women’s national team in Pennsylvania on May 27th.

Since the establishment of bilateral relations, culture has played an important role in people-to-people engagement between the U.S. and China. The culture working group signed the Bilateral Cultural Agreement for 2012-2014. The United States will send several cultural programs to China, including dance troupes, music groups and writers, to engage in community events. We will also continue to collaborate in arts and museum exchanges, building connections that transcend language barriers.

The U.S. China Women’s Leadership Exchange and Dialogue was launched in April 2011, and it facilitates and promotes exchanges between women leaders of both countries on issues concerning work family, employment rights, and philanthropy.