On the morning of May 31, the opening ceremony of the U.S.-China Student Summit was held at Peking University Overseas Exchange Center. A total 360 students from more than 50 universities and key middle schools in China and the United States participated in the summit. The summit brought together statesmen, educators and people of insight who care about and support the healthy development of China-US relations. Li Yansong, Vice President of Peking University, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a welcome speech.
Li Yansong gives speech
The summit was sponsored by the WorldStrides International Group and School of International Studies of Peking University, with the assistance of the China Education Association for International Exchange, Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding (formerly known as Institute for China-U.S. People-to-People Exchange) of Peking University, Tsinghua University High School, 100,000 Strong Foundation and International Center for Youth Development of the School of International Studies, Peking University. The summit brought together representatives of college students from top universities such as the University of California, Berkeley and Georgia Institute of Technology from the United States, and Peking University and Beijing Foreign Studies University from China, as well as representatives of outstanding high school students selected in China. At the summit, the guests delivered wonderful speeches on the theme of “Youth and Innovation” to further strengthen people-to-people exchange between China and the United States.
The summit lasted for two days and was divided into five sessions. On the morning of the first day, at the opening ceremony, the guests stressed the importance of China-U.S. relations in their speeches and hoped to further promote the development of China-U.S. relations by strengthening exchanges among young people. Afterwards, Dr. Luigi T. Peccenini, founder of Wall Street English, and Ms. Jessica Beinecke, founder of BaiJieLaLaLa, delivered special speeches to the students, which were of different styles and full of wit and fun. The humorous language and the active interaction between the speakers and the students lightened the atmosphere of the summit. In the afternoon, a group discussion was held in Tsinghua University High School. Professional instructors helped Chinese and American students to be divided into several groups and guided them to conduct academic discussions and interactions on the topics of leadership, innovation, communication and cultural promotion.
The event site
The next day, the sponsors invited a number of business executives to give lectures on topics of concern to Chinese and American students. In the following cross-cultural development activities, students made full use of the knowledge and skills they learned on the first day to overcome barriers and complete tasks and compete for the title of Best Team.
At the closing ceremony in the afternoon, Jim Hall, CEO of WorldStrides International, spoke highly of the performance of all participating students, volunteers and staff in the two days, and provided an optimistic outlook for the further development of China-U.S. relations. Wang Jingwen from Peking University spoke as a representative of Chinese and American students. She said that the event provided a high-quality platform for Chinese students to communicate with their American peers and share each other’s culture and ideas. Finally, Jessica Beinecke presented the certificates to the winners of the Best Representative Award and the Best Team Award. The first US-China Student Summit concluded successfully.
This event has received strong support from 100,000 Strong Foundation. 100,000 Strong Foundation aims to expand the number and diversity of American students studying in China, which will allow the next generation of American youths to effectively promote the healthy development of China-US relations through cultural consensus and understanding. Originated from the 100,000 Strong Initiative of the U.S. Department of State, the 100,000 Strong Foundation was launched by former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in January 2013. Its goal is to realize President Barack Obama’s call for 100,000 American students to study in China by the end of 2014.
Editor: Xin Qin
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