Chinese ambassador Xie Feng shared the plans at an event celebrating the 45th anniversary of China-US student exchanges at the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC on January 28. 

“We welcome more young friends from the United States to see China with their own eyes, travel the expanse of the country with their own feet, and become the new generation of envoys of friendship between our two countries,” said ambassador Xie. 

The initiative comes after president Xi promised to open up spaces for 50,000 American students in San Francisco in November. 

Ambassador Xie emphasised the president’s belief in the importance of education cooperation and that the future of Chinese American relations depended on the youth. 

In 2021/22, the number of US university students studying abroad in mainland China was only 211, down 99% from pre-pandemic levels. 

In the same year, there were 19,391 Chinese students studying in the US. 

As well as university students, the YES program will include primary and secondary school pupils on shorter exchange programs such as summer schools and winter camps. 

“YES will open up a new channel for student exchanges in China, and the financial support offered by YES will help make study travel in China more accessible to students of diverse socio-economic backgrounds,” said David Weeks, co-founder and COO of Sunrise Education. 

It is expected that the only direct cost to the student will be the airfare to China, making YES the most cost-effective option for students studying the Chinese language. It also makes travel to China accessible to students of diverse socio-economic backgrounds. 

After three years of minimal US study travel in China since the pandemic, the program comes at a pivotal time. 

“We have a generation of fresh university graduates entering the business and government workforce without meaningful experience in China. If YES succeeds, then that three year gap will be a historical blip rather than a hollowing out of American understanding of China,” said Weeks. 

While the YES program could signal a reinvigoration of China-US student exchanges, such programs are contingent on bilateral relations and are subject to the volatility of US electoral politics in the run up to the 2024 US election.