Students from the United States show their handicrafts at a school in Shijiazhuang, north China"s Hebei Province, April 11, 2026. (Xinhua/Lu Ye)

　　Out at sea, Chinese and US university students explored the ocean, took part in scientific and cultural activities and, at one point, sat down to negotiate a global environmental problem.

　　Taking on the roles of different countries and international organizations, 20 students, 10 from each country, worked on solutions to mercury pollution in the oceans. When one American student joked that they might have to leave the ship if they couldn"t reach an agreement, the group erupted in laughter, recalled Zhou Xinyi, then a student representative from Tsinghua University.

　　Zhou and her fellow students were participating in a program aboard the China-U.S. Youth Friendship vessel, which sailed from Hong Kong via Ningbo to Shanghai earlier this year. For them, the experience offered more than a journey across the sea -- it was an opportunity to learn, work together and build friendships.

　　The voyage was one of many exchanges under an initiative China announced in November 2023 to invite 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study over five years, an effort to encourage them to learn about China as it really is and help build people-to-people ties.

　　Since the initiative was launched, youth exchanges between the two countries have grown in both scale and variety. Many young Americans have come to China for exchanges and study, building friendships and helping strengthen ties across the Pacific.

　　With efforts from various parties, the goal was reached two and a half years ahead of schedule earlier this year, with more than 50,000 young Americans from all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., visiting China.