China News Service, Washington, November 7. Qin Gang, Chinese Ambassador to the United States, attended an online exchange event with contestants in the "Chinese Bridge" competition on the 6th.
Hundreds of "Chinese Bridge" contestants, instructors, family representatives, and Chinese enthusiasts from various primary and secondary schools across the United States in the past three years watched it online.
Qin Gang said in his speech that language is a bridge for human communication and an important carrier of human civilization.
As two big countries with different histories and cultures, different social systems, and different stages of development, China and the United States have many differences. Learning Chinese well is necessary for Sino-US exchanges and mutual learning.
He said that learning Chinese has added unique fun to the students, brought more possibilities, and increased the value of life. He hoped that they can enjoy the joy of cross-cultural free communication.
He encouraged the students to truly enter the spiritual world of the Chinese people through learning Chinese, and to understand a real and three-dimensional China, so that the Chinese and American people can continuously overcome language barriers, cross the gap of cultural differences, understand each other's differences, and bridge Disagree, eliminate misunderstandings, respect each other, and enhance mutual goodwill and trust.
Kendall Kracke, the global champion of the 20th "Chinese Bridge" competition in 2021, the American champion Bradley Quy of the 19th "Chinese Bridge" competition, contestant Zachary Beheshti Shirazi, and previous editions Contest winners or contestants Olivia Rose Bowers, Wang Peng (Filip Aleksandar Zigic), Guo Aimei (Emily Anne Geilman), etc. spoke in turn, sharing the experience of learning Chinese and participating in the "Chinese Bridge", and talked about the indissoluble bond with China. Express your love for Chinese and Chinese culture, with special emphasis on learning Chinese to help eliminate prejudices and misunderstandings about China.
The students also talked freely about the importance of learning Chinese for their future life plans, and determined to engage in friendly exchanges between China and the United States in the future.
In the interactive session, representatives of students and teachers interacted with Qin Gang on issues such as "China-US Relations under the Epidemic", how to participate in the "Chinese Bridge" competition, suggestions for studying international relations in the future, and how to become a diplomat.
Qin Gang finally said that through this relaxed and pleasant exchange activity, he felt everyone's enthusiasm for learning Chinese, and he also understood the wide range of needs for learning Chinese in the United States.
I hope that the students will continue to work hard, persevere in learning Chinese, pay attention to China, make friends extensively, weave the bond of friendship together, and become friendly envoys between China and the United States.
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