December 1, 2023

On Friday, December 1, 2023, a total of 36 Bard High School Early College Baltimore students visited the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC. The embassy staff warmly welcomed the students at the main entrance and treated them as special guests. Students were given a tour of the embassy, which featured famous Chinese paintings, chandeliers, vases, calligraphy and classic books.

Following the embassy tour, the embassy staff provided students with light snacks and beverages while they watched two short videos. The first video featured Xiamen, Baltimore’s sister city in Fujian Province, China. Students expressed how struck they were by the beauty of Xiamen. They were then introduced to the embassy photographer for the day who was from Xiamen, who shared warm greetings with the students. They also watched a video about Chinese characters. Students were surprised to learn that even Chinese people themselves struggle with characters, too!

Finally, the embassy staff arranged a fun game to help students learn more about U.S.-China relations. Six students were divided into two teams and given ten questions to answer. Through this activity, students not only appreciated the sense of humor of the embassy staff but also learned key facts. These included: the Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee was founded in 1985, and during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to San Francisco last month, he announced plans for China to welcome 50,000 American students to China over the next five years.

Thereafter, students were joined by Wang Peijun of the Embassy’s Congressional and Sub-national Affairs Section and Ai Longfei of the Office of Educational Affairs. They answered three questions posed by the Bard students. In his remarks, Mr. Wang introduced commonalities between the United States and China. He noted that both are: similar in size geographically; super-sized market economies; nuclear powers recognized by the United Nations; and, members of the UN Security Council. Given such similarities, Mr. Wang explained, Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng has worked to return to key understandings reached between Presidents Biden and Xi in Bali (Indonesia) in late 2022, as well as in San Francisco on November 15 this year. Noting that the U.S.-China relationship has faced numerous challenges over the past few years, Mr. Wang explained that in Bali the two sides agreed the relationship must be managed successively. The focus thus has been threefold: to fix the relationship, grow the relationship, and maintain solid momentum of the relationship going forward. Xi’s guidelines to manage the U.S.-China relationship, Wang said, focuses on seeking a stable, sound and sustainable connection to achieve mutual responsibility, peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation.

In concluding the program, Ms. Jeannette Felton, chair of the Education Subcommittee of the Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee, expressed appreciation to the embassy and its counterparts in Xiamen for the opportunity to bring Bard students to tour the embassy and expressed hope for the further development of Baltimore-Xiamen ties through educational exchanges.

Following the visit, students shared their impressions of the embassy visit. They wrote how much they learned about the importance of U.S.-China relations and the beauty of our sister city, Xiamen. They also shared how impressed they were by the beauty of the embassy’s architecture and artwork, noting how culture and art seem to be an important part of diplomatic relations. Students were especially touched by the embassy staff who took such good care of them. One student was so moved they actually wrote: “How can they be so nice and respectful?!” A couple students shared how they were interested in learning more about international affairs, how to apply for study in China, and if they could visit the embassy again!

Special thanks to all who made this event possible, including the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., the foreign affairs office in Xiamen, and the Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee. We especially appreciate WANG Yang, Xin (Cindy) Wang, CHEN Qing, Helene Coccagna and Jeannette Felton.