Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, February 24 (Xinhua) President Xi Jinping responded to a letter to students from the American Muscatine High School delegation visiting China on the Lantern Festival of the Year of the Dragon and sent New Year greeting cards in return, extending holiday blessings to them and the teachers and students of the school, and welcoming more American teenagers. Come to China for exchange and study.

  Xi Jinping said that the Chinese characters in your letter are beautifully written, and the hand-drawn Chinese dragons, Great Wall and pandas are very vivid!

I’m very happy to know that you visited several cities, saw giant pandas, tasted Chinese food, and experienced Chinese culture, and felt “super happy”.

I heard that you have met many Chinese friends and invited them to visit your hometown. The friendship you have formed is touching.

  Xi Jinping pointed out that there is a saying in China: Seeing once is worth hearing a hundred times.

When I visited the United States for the first time in 1985, the warm and friendly American people left an unforgettable impression on me.

I believe that through this exchange visit, you will also have a more intuitive and in-depth understanding of China and the Chinese people.

You are welcome to come to China again, and we also welcome more American young friends to come to China to exchange and study, to experience a real, three-dimensional and comprehensive China, to make friends and learn from each other with Chinese young people, and to jointly contribute to enhancing the friendship between the two peoples. strength.

  Xi Jinping said in his reply that today is the Lantern Festival in the Chinese Year of the Dragon. The Lantern Festival is an important moment for Chinese people to wish for a better life. I extend my best wishes for the festival to you and all the teachers and students of the school!

  In November 2023, during President Xi Jinping's visit to the United States, he announced that China is willing to invite 50,000 American teenagers to exchange and study in China in the next five years.

Sarah Landy, a friend from Iowa, USA, recently wrote to President Xi, expressing her hope that Muscatine High School will also participate in this plan.

With the care of President Xi, from January 24th to 30th, as the first batch of American middle school students to come to China under this project, more than 20 students from Muscatine Middle School conducted exchange visits to Beijing, Hebei, Shanghai and other places.

When the delegation arrived in Beijing, they brought President Xi a school flag with the Chinese words "Grandpa Xi, we are here" and other gifts.

After the visit, the students from the delegation wrote to President Xi, describing their joy of the visit to China and expressing their gratitude for inviting them to China for exchange visits.