WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The United States and China are facing global challenges together, and it's really important that Americans and Chinese understand each other better through educational exchanges, said a U.S. college president.

"While we have different views about lots of things, about trade, about politics, about economics, we are on the same small planet and we are facing some extraordinarily critical challenges," Margee Ensign, president of Dickinson College, told Xinhua in a recent video interview.

Noting that climate change is one of the areas the two countries could cooperate on, Ensign said the two sides must find ways to work together for "the common good," which is also Dickinson's motto.

"I know there are young people in China just as there are young people in the U.S. who see the world that way, who want to work, to make sure that we find those points of agreement, and that we work together to solve them. And it's easier and it's essential if we understand each other," Ensign said.

Ensign highlighted the importance of increased international exchange, calling on American and Chinese students to understand their respective history, language and culture.

Dickinson College, located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, was established in 1783 by Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The private liberal-arts college was recognized with the 2019 Senator Paul Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization, becoming the first college in the country to receive the award twice.

Approximately two thirds of Dickinson's several thousand students study abroad, according to the president, who added that the college has set up centers and launched programs around the world, including in Asia, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as in Latin America.

Noting that the data on American students studying abroad is "not as high as we would hope," Ensign told Xinhua that it's important to "get those numbers up" just as it is important to have more international students in the United States, because most of the challenges the younger generation will be facing "will be global in nature."

The president noted that China is one of the top three countries from which international students come to Dickinson, and also a critically important country for students going out, adding that partnerships with the Asian country go back 20 or 30 years.

"So we have deep partnerships that have not just survive this pandemic, but thrived," Ensign said.

As negative views of China grow in the United States amid the pandemic, Ensign said that "as we look at other countries, including China, we must do it based on knowledge and facts."

"We have all been experiencing these last few years, baseless accusations, and that has not helped diplomacy. It's not helped us in terms of our economic relationship or political relationship or, sharing students with each other," she said.

The president said the only thing to resolve misunderstandings is education, calling on increased international exchange.

"When people have a deep education, they have language and culture, and they've actually experienced another society, they have a more sophisticated view of what that country is about," she said.

"So I would say to the wonderful students in China, you are more than welcome at Dickinson College," she added.

Ensign said she hopes to see enhanced educational exchange between the two countries under the leadership of President-elect Joe Biden, whose wife Jill Biden is an educator.

"I think they know these things and are, from what I can tell, are committed to making sure we can get visas in a more expedited way, and that we all work together to make sure America is welcoming again, to young people from around the world," Ensign said.

"So I'm hoping and praying if I have anything to say to the Biden administration, I hope that this is one of their top priorities, encouraging international exchanges," she added.

As COVID-19 cases spike across the country, Ensign, who served as president of the American University of Nigeria and experienced Ebola outbreaks, said Dickinson College has rolled out a plan for students to safely return to campus in the spring, assuming the pandemic is under control.

The plan is that first and second year students would come for the first half of the semester, and then the campus will be thoroughly cleaned during the spring break, before juniors and seniors would be back in the second half of the semester, she said.

Ensign said students will have to be tested negative before coming to campus, and Dickinson will be testing twice a week in the spring, whereas only a small percent of American colleges are testing once a week.

"So I really think we have all the elements in place. Testing, tracing, a code for responsible behavior and a community that's come together to support this," she said.