At the invitation of the China Education Association for International Exchange, a delegation of 24 US students from Lincoln High School and Steilacoom High School arrived in Beijing on Sunday, kicking off an 11-day tour in China.

Students from Lincoln High School and Steilacoom High School of Washington, US paint Chinese fans at Tsinghua University High School in Beijing on March 18, 2024. (Photo: Xinhua)

This tour aims to fulfill President Xi Jinping's commitment to invite 50,000 young Americans to China over the next five years.
Xi proposed the youth exchange and study programs on November 15, 2023, in San Francisco.
The students from Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington may not have been aware that their city and school have a connection with China. In 1993, Xi visited Tacoma as the Party chief of Fuzhou, the capital of East China's Fujian Province.
In September 2015, during his first state visit to the US as Chinese president, Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan visited Lincoln High School in Tacoma.

President Xi Jinping (right, front) is presented with a shirt by the Lincoln High School rugby team during his visit to Tacoma, Washington, US on September 23, 2015. (Photo: Xinhua)

Xi, collar open and without a tie, presented gifts to the students such as books on China and a ping-pong table. Xi also received gifts from the students: a football and a personalized jersey bearing his name and a number "1" on the back.
During the following speech, Xi said that 100 students from the school would be invited to visit China. "Through travel, you will know China better, and hopefully, you will like China," Xi said.

Students from Lincoln High School and Steilacoom High School of Washington, US take a kung fu class at the Capital University of Physical Education and Sports in Beijing on March 19, 2024. (Photo: Xinhua)

A delegation of 118 students and teachers from Lincoln High School visited Chinese cities, including Fuzhou, Chengdu and Beijing, in October 2016.
Early in 2024, teachers and students of the school in Washington sent a Chinese New Year greeting card to Xi, Peng and the Chinese people, extending their best wishes for happiness and health in the new year. More than 100 teachers and students signed the card.
President Xi and his wife, Peng, on behalf of the Chinese people, replied to the Chinese New Year greeting card on February 11, extending their best wishes for the Year of the Dragon.
In their card, Xi and Peng invited them to visit China more often, including participating in exchange and study programs that are inviting 50,000 young Americans to China, so as to contribute to the friendship between the two peoples, especially among young people.
(Compiled by Dong Feng, edited by Sun Tianren)