China News Agency, Los Angeles, February 26th, title: Qin Gang visited the Los Angeles International Studies and Learning Center, American middle school students and Chinese ambassadors
China News Agency reporter Zhang Shuo
In the south of Los Angeles, USA, there is a school featuring "internationalization" - the Los Angeles International Studies and Learning Center.
On February 17, 2012, then Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping visited the school together with then American Vice President Joe Biden during his visit to the United States.
To this day, there are still photos of the two leaders smiling and watching the students perform dragon dances on the walls of the teaching building.
On February 25, 2022, Qin Gang, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, made a special trip here to discuss and exchange ideas during his first trip to the West Coast after taking office in the United States, and conveyed President Xi Jinping's best wishes to all teachers and students.
At about 10 o'clock in the morning, Qin Gang and his party arrived at the Los Angeles International Studies and Learning Center and were warmly welcomed by the school, school district representatives and students dressed in Chinese clothing.
Accompanied by Principal Michael Santiago, he first walked into the teaching building and stopped to watch the pictures that recorded the visits of the leaders of China and the United States to the campus.
Then, Qin Gang came to classroom 116.
This is a classroom where Mandarin Chinese is taught.
The bright and spacious room is decorated with bright red Chinese knots, exquisite Beijing Shayan kites, red lanterns celebrating the Spring Festival and paper-cut window grilles of the Year of the Tiger, which is full of strong Chinese cultural atmosphere.
Teacher Zhang Renli, who has been teaching for 18 years, is teaching Chinese to the students.
Qin Gang watched the classroom teaching and encouraged the children to study hard.
After walking out of the Chinese class, Qin Gang came to the school's reading room.
In the reading room, the national flags of China and the United States are displayed, where dozens of students studying Chinese are waiting for a face-to-face exchange with the Chinese ambassador.
"What diplomatic skills do you think can ensure peaceful relations between countries?" "How did you become an ambassador to China?" "What challenges do you have to face as an ambassador?"...to the students' questions , Qin Gang, who has served as the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs for more than 8 years, answered with wit and frankness.
Qin Gang told everyone that as an ambassador, I am not here to "make trouble".
The most important job of the ambassador is to enhance the peace and friendship between the two countries.
Different countries have different histories and cultures, and different ways of viewing and handling affairs, so it is normal to have differences.
This requires us to conduct dialogues and exchanges, enhance mutual understanding, avoid misunderstandings and misjudgments, seek common ground while reserving differences, and expand consensus.
The relationship between China and the United States has become increasingly close, and how the two major countries get along is related to the well-being of the people of both sides and even the whole world.
We must maintain and push the relationship between the two countries in the right direction.
Qin Gang expressed his sincere message to the students that how our two countries and peoples will treat each other in the future depends on you.
Because you represent the future.
I hope you can interact more with Chinese students and learn more about China.
This school communicates and cooperates with Chinese schools, which is good.
When you communicate with Chinese students, you are "diplomats", and you can see what young Americans think about you.
In the future, some of you may choose to become a career diplomat like me, welcome!
Teachers and students responded with laughter and applause to Qin Gang's questions.
Before the question-and-answer session, these teenage American children also showed off their Chinese learning achievements in front of the Chinese ambassador.
They recited in unison the "Three Character Classic" and "Spring Dawn", "Quiet Night Thoughts", "Qingming", "Yuan Ri", "Shui Diao Song Head: When Will the Bright Moon Come" and other well-known poems from the Tang and Song Dynasties, which won applause from the audience.
Qin Gang brought gifts such as the mascots of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games "Bing Dun Dun" and "Xue Rong Rong" to the students, while the school presented rugby, baseball and other souvenirs to Chinese guests.
After the discussion, the students happily performed dragon dances on the playground.
Ten years ago, when Xi Jinping and Biden visited the Los Angeles International Studies and Study Center, the students also warmly welcomed the Chinese delegation with traditional Chinese drum music and dragon dance performances.
Xi Jinping told the teachers and students that the most important thing in dragon dance is the finishing touch.
Youth is the future of the country, and education is the foundation of the nation.
Today, I came to the center to communicate with the young students, to promote mutual understanding and friendship between the young generations of China and the United States, and to jointly create a bright future for the relationship between the two countries. This is an important part of my visit. "The finishing touch".
Time flies, ten years in a flash.
During the discussion at the Los Angeles International Studies and Learning Center, Qin Gang told everyone that President Xi Jinping asked me to extend my best wishes to all teachers and students.
After leaving the school after the visit, Qin Gang also posted photos of the group photo with the teachers and students of the Los Angeles International Studies and Learning Center and the photos of American students dancing dragons on social media.
He said that he is particularly pleased to see that the seeds of friendship have blossomed in the past ten years.
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