One hundred and fifty-six years ago, a young Chinese man named Rong Hong entered Yale University campus. Four years later he graduated with distinction and received his Bachelor of Arts degree, making him the first-ever Chinese graduate of an American university. Subsequently, group after group of young Chinese have followed in his footsteps and studied at Yale, a university dedicated to "educating future global leaders."

As early as the late 1970s, when the two countries established diplomatic ties, there was a general realization among the powers that be that one of the best places to foster bilateral communication would be at the root: among the young, especially those in colleges and universities. Once China opened up its economy later that decade, academic exchanges and collaboration between Yale and China began to flourish and expand. Over the past 20 years, Yale has accepted over 4,000 Chinese students and undertaken more than 80 cooperation projects with China in the fields of education, culture, and science and technology. In the summer of 2005, Yale sent its first batch of international students to China for internships, and some among them became the first foreign interns to work with China's Palace Museum.

In the current academic year there are 290 Chinese students enrolled in Yale College and Yale's graduate and professional schools, and 327 other Chinese scholars (fellows, postdoctoral researchers, etc.) in residence at Yale. Chinese students and scholars represent, by far, the largest complement of any foreign country in residence at Yale.

At a speech given on April 21 this year in New Haven, Connecticut, visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao extended an invitation to a delegation of 100, including 37 teachers and 63 students of Yale University to visit China. Referring to an old Chinese proverb, he said, "As in the Yangtze River where the waves behind drive on those ahead, so a new generation always excels over the last one." With their vitality, originality and creativity, he said, the young represent the hope and future of the world. "I sincerely hope that the young people in China and the United States will join hands and work to enhance our mutual friendship, and together with the people of other countries, create a better world for all."

He added that exchanges in culture and education among young people serve as a bridge for increasing mutual understanding between the two peoples, and are thus a major driving force for the healthy and stable growth of China-U.S. relations. The Chinese President commended Yale as a forerunner in conducting China-U.S. educational exchanges, and reaffirmed that it provided an important platform for cultural exchanges between the two countries.

Taking up Hu's invitation, a delegation of Yale University students arrived in China on May 15 for a 10-day visit. Two days later the Chinese President met with the students and faculty led by Richard Levin, President of Yale University. Hu said he hoped the delegates would be able to visit many places in China to improve their understanding of the country. He also encouraged them to have more exchanges with young Chinese people and thus contribute to China-U.S. friendship.

The delegation visited Peking University and Tsinghua University in Beijing, Fudan University in Shanghai, and Xi'an Jiaotong University in Xi'an City, of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. The group also interacted with Chinese students, scholars, and government officials, toured major cultural and historical sites in Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai, and visited rural areas in west China.

"I think that young people are playing an important role in securing a peaceful future for the U.S. and China," Levin told Beijing Review. He noted that there was a great deal of ignorance about China in the United States, and about the United States in China as well-especially among the older generation. Young people with the opportunity to visit other countries can really come to understand foreign values, he said. "I think that the more we know and appreciate one another, the more likely we'll get along and get through various crises that inevitably transpire between big countries."