Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in New York Visited Kean University USA and Hoped that WKU Exchange Students Become Civil Ambassadors for Sino-US Friendship

On November 28, Ping HUANG, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in New York, paid a visit to Kean University in New Jersey. He met with representatives of Chinese exchange students from Wenzhou-Kean University (WKU).

Led by the university’s President Lamont Repollet, Mr. Huang and his delegation toured around the campus and interacted with teachers and students of the university. Together with Consul Zhongbo YANG from the Department of Education Affairs, they had a discussion with more than ten university leadership members, including Felice Vazquez, Vice President of Kean University, and Cary Anderson, Executive Vice Chancellor of WKU. They also talked with Chinese students in an amicable manner.

The first stop of the visit was Kean Hall. In particular, Mr. Huang visited the auditorium where Chinese President Xi Jinping, Secretary of CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee at that time, made a visit to Kean University and witnessed the signing of the cooperation agreement on jointly establishing Wenzhou-Kean University. Ms. Vazquez remembered Xi’s visit and believed that it was with the grand vision and strong support of President Xi that WKU advanced from blueprint to reality, and became a pioneer and model of educational exchanges and cooperation between China and the United States.

During the visit, Mr. Huang also played ping pong with Mr. Repollet, in memory of the 50th Anniversary of U.S.-China Ping Pong Diplomacy.

Mr. Huang then held talks with Mr. Repollet and other senior leaders of Kean University. The two sides reviewed the establishment and development of WKU under the care of President Xi Jinping. They both agreed that WKU was a landmark achievement in deepening educational exchanges and cooperation between China and America, and it played a crucial role in promoting people-to-people exchange between the two countries.

Mr. Huang briefed on the convening of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, in which a blueprint for China’s future development was drawn. The congress sent a clear message to the world that China will maintain great continuity and stability of policies concerning domestic and foreign affairs. China will promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in an all-round way with Chinese-style modernization, and continue to meet people’s aspirations for a better life, which was the starting point of future work. China will adhere to the path of peaceful, open and win-win development. China will also participate in and promote global development, and work with other countries to achieve common growth.

Mr. Huang noted that President Xi Jinping recently met with US President Joe Biden in Bali, Indonesia, and they conducted frank, in-depth, constructive, and strategic exchanges on major issues related to China-US relations and the prospects for the peaceful development of the world. President Xi said that China-US relations should not be a zero-sum game where one side out-competes or thrives at the expense of the other. He called on the two sides to respect each other, coexist in peace, pursue win-win cooperation, and work together to ensure that China-US relations move forward on the right course without losing direction or speed, still less having a collision. The two presidents reached a common understanding on many issues. They agreed to strengthen people-to-people exchange and pledged to encourage the expansion of such exchange in all sectors. Education and people-to-people exchange are important means for the younger generations of the two countries to enhance mutual understanding and build friendship. Mr. Huang hoped that Kean University would continue to contribute to the people-to-people exchange between China and the United States and to write a new chapter in the friendly connection between the two peoples.

After the meeting, Mr. Huang met with representatives of Chinese exchange students from WKU and talked about their studies and life. He also urged them to seize the learning opportunity, play a good role as China-US friendship ambassadors, and serve the country with what they have learned.

Wenzhou-Kean University is a province-state friendship project between Zhejiang Province and New Jersey in the United States. It is a Chinese-American jointly established higher education institution with independent legal person status. In 2006, Mr. Xi Jinping, then Secretary of CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Zhejiang Provincial People’s Congress, visited Kean University. He attended the Signing Ceremony of cooperation between Wenzhou University and Kean University in establishing Wenzhou-Kean University. In 2011, the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China (MOE) approved the application of the preparation for establishing Wenzhou-Kean University. At present, WKU has more than 4,200 students.

Source: Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in New York