BEIJING, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping is in San Francisco for a high-stakes summit with his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, seeking the way forward for the strained ties between the world's two largest economies.
It is a coincidence that San Francisco was the first stop of Xi's maiden trip to the United States decades ago. In the spring of 1985, Xi, at that time a county leader of Zhengding in China's northern province of Hebei, took his initial steps onto U.S. soil.
Much like any other city visitor, Xi, a young man in his early thirties, had his picture taken with the Golden Gate Bridge.
That trip helped Xi get acquainted with the United States, and from then on, he fostered friendships with Americans, especially young people who hold the future of China-U.S. relations.
Xi, with his wife Peng Liyuan, visited Lincoln High School in Tacoma of Washington State in 2015 during his first state visit to the United States as Chinese president.
Xi Jinping (back, 4th L) and his wife Peng Liyuan (back, 2nd L) greet teachers and students during their visit to Lincoln High School in Tacoma of Washington State, the United States, Sept. 23, 2015. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)
Shauntel Berry, a student at Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington State, encountered Xi at the school's auditorium, leading to an extraordinary experience she never would have imagined.
Berry recalled that the president, collar open and without a tie, presented gifts to the students, including 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 the "No. 1" on the back.
Xi Jinping (R, front) is presented with a shirt by the school rugby team during his visit to Lincoln High School in Tacoma of Washington State, the United States, Sept. 23, 2015. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)
But it was what Xi offered during the following speech that would change the life of Berry and many of her fellow students: 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.
In 2016, Berry visited China as one of those invited. "Traveling to China made me realize we're all living different lives, and there's more than one way to live. I took notice of the values and the normality of respect of the Chinese people, a shock compared to here in the States."
Xi put his faith in youth. He once voiced the hope that more youth from China and the United States can get to know each other, and work hand in hand as a new generation of ambassadors of friendship to inject fresh impetus into the development of China-U.S. relations.
"President Xi is a strong believer in educational exchanges," said Patrick Erwin, principal of Lincoln High School, who accompanied Xi on the 2015 school tour.
In the year 2021, a time when the China-U.S. relationship was dragged to a low ebb, Erwin wrote a letter to Xi, telling him about the exchanges between his school and China over the past years and how the educational partnership is important to his students.
"It is a life-changing experience, both in terms of the travel itself and the exposure to the culture, the history and the Chinese people," Erwin said. "My students all want to go back to China and study in China."
Young people believe in the future, said Wang Dong, executive director of the Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding at Peking University. "Xi has showcased his great vision for China-U.S. relations and his expectations for the friendship between the two nations." ■
