The U.S. Youth Delegation Visits the GYLD Secretariat

On July 17, a delegation of nearly 30 U.S. youth visit the Center for China and Globalization（CCG）and the GYLD Secretariat as their first stop in China. They have a dialogue with Chinese experts and CCG’s young researchers and members from GYLD Secretariat on sustainable development and urban planning. These students are invited by the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF) and mainly from Sidwell Friends School and Universities like Princeton University.

Zhao Zhanjie, Director of External Relations, Program manager of Global Young Leaders Dialogue (GYLD), CCG

Wendy Tang, Head of Programs and Events at the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF)

Ryan McElveen, Associate Director of the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution. 

John Flower, Vice Chair and Co-founder of the China Folk House Retreat 

At the outset, Zhao Zhanjie, Director of External Relations and Program Manager of GYLD at CCG, warmly welcomes the delegation and special guests before presenting promotional videos for CCG and GYLD. Wendy Tang, Head of Programs and Events at CUSEF, together withdelegation leadership, Ryan McElveen, Associate Director of the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution, and John Flower, Vice Chair and Co-founder of the China Folk House Retreat, introduce the delegation and highlight youth exchange activities between China and the United States organized by CUSEF while expressing their expectations for the exchange next.

Following this, Mr. Ma Jun,CCG Non-resident Senior Fellow, Director and Founder of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), delivers an impressive speech titled “The Blue Map for a Green Transition,” in which he introduces his story of tirelessly promoting environmental improvement in China through the transparency and visualization of environmental data.

Ms Chen Xi, Vice-head of the Sponge City Studio, Turenscape, Senior Engineer, National Certified Urban Planner, shares the concepts and projects of sponge city construction led by Dr. Yu Kongjian, with a presentation titled “Sponge City and Landscape Design Cases in China.”

During the Q&A session, delegation leaders and American students engage in a more in-depth discussion with two Chinese experts on enhancing cooperation between China and the United States in areas such as climate change. The experts emphasize that, beyond geopolitical considerations, face-to-face exchanges between Chinese and American youth regarding global challenges reveal that our commonalities outweigh our differences, and communication fosters mutual understanding. Both Chinese and American youth who attend the event found the experts’ speeches to be outstanding and highly beneficial.

The event is a positive response to President Xi Jinping’s initiative to invite 50,000 American youth to China for exchange and study over the next five years. It is jointly organized by CCG, CUSEF and GYLD, marking the first stop of the CUSEF x Young Leaders Initiative delegation’s visit to China.

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Youth are the future of the world. The Center for China and Globalization (CCG) has always been committed to promoting international cultural exchanges among young people. In 2020, it initiated the “Global Young Leaders Dialogue (GYLD)” program, which has organized many activities including the GYLD Annual Forum and the GYLD China Tour. In 2021, President Xi Jinping replied to the letter from young foreign participants at Global Young Leaders Dialogue, expressing his hope that young people at home and abroad will enhance mutual understanding, develop friendship and achieve mutual success, thus contributing to the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.

The hope of the China-U.S. relationship lies in the people, its foundation is in the two societies, its future depends on the youth, and its vitality comes from exchanges at subnational levels. On July 5, CCG also released a new report titled “Enhancing U.S.-China Youth Exchanges, Implementing the‘50,000 in 5 Years’ Vision” which offers opinions and suggestions on the implementation of the initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping during his visit to the United States at the end of 2023 to invite 50,000 American youth to China for exchange and study over the next five years.