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Jimmy Carter hails 40th anniversary of China-U.S. student exchange

(Xinhua)    13:49, November 22, 2019

WASHINGTON, Nov.21 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter on Thursday released a congratulatory message on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of China-U.S. student exchange, noting that such exchange are important for promoting mutual understanding between the two countries.

"The academic and scientific exchange between our countries is an important way to create a better understanding of one another," Carter said in a letter addressed to the Chinese Embassy in Washington and the U.S. State Department.

Carter, during whose administration China and the United States established formal diplomatic ties, recounted how the exchange began shortly after formal ties were forged in January 1979.

Carter said that when the Chinese leadership requested to send 5,000 Chinese students to further their studies in the United States, his aide Frank Press thought it was such an urgent and important matter that he called Carter at 3 a.m. local time. Hearing the request, Carter said China "could send 100,000."

With strong support from the top leadership of both countries, 52 Chinese students traveled to the United States in the same month the two countries established diplomatic relationship, and eight U.S. students embarked on their China trip in the second month. In the first year of bilateral relationship, the United States altogether sent 56 students to China.

Carter said he had not expected that exchange would dramatically expand to its present scale. According to the latest figure, nearly 370,000 students from Chinese mainland are studying in the United States and nearly 12,000 U.S. students are studying in Chinese mainland.

Carter also expressed his best wishes for continued student exchange between the United States and China.

(For the latest China news, Please follow People's Daily on Twitter and Facebook)(Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun)

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