Xi's proposal facilitating exchanges

China's diplomatic efforts nurture cultural understanding and peace

When asked about President Xi Jinping's ambitious proposal made last year to invite a total of 50,000 young people from the United States over a period of five years to visit China on exchange and study programs, Eric Foster, nephew of legendary journalist Edgar Snow's wife, Helen Foster Snow, said he strongly supports more exchanges of this kind.

Foster, a US policy observer focused on China affairs, said that around 10 years ago, when he first came to China, the average American heard many bad things about the country because "the media in the West hardly gave any good news about China".

"So when I came here, I was just totally blown away how modern it was," he told China Daily. "If more Americans, more students can come here and see China themselves and (take part in) exchange programs, then they're gonna go back and say, 'Wow, it's so cool'."