Chinese President Xi Jinping has recently responded to letters from student representatives of the \\"Hundred Schools Project\\"—a Chinese language education initiative in the United Arab Emirates. In his heartfelt replies, Xi encouraged the students to master the Chinese language, deepen their understanding of China, and contribute to fostering friendship between the two nations.
\\"I have read each letter from you,\\" Xi expressed, \\"from the lines and drawings, I felt all your love for Chinese culture and your expectation for friendship between the two countries.\\" He reminisced about the inception of the project five years ago, when he and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan jointly launched the initiative to promote Chinese language education in the UAE.
Xi highlighted the growing trend of Chinese language learning in the UAE, celebrating the students as \\"little ambassadors\\" for China-UAE exchanges. \\"Now seeing that learning Chinese has become a new trend in the UAE, and a group of little ambassadors for China-UAE exchanges, like you, have been cultivated, I'm very pleased,\\" he said.
Reflecting on the longstanding relationship between China and the UAE, Xi noted, \\"In your letters, you say China and the UAE have 'held hands' for 40 years, and hope that our two countries will always be good friends,\\" adding, \\"the Chinese people also share the same wish.\\"
Emphasizing the importance of youth in shaping future relations, Xi invited the students to visit China to see cultural landmarks like the pandas and the Great Wall, and to study at Chinese universities. He encouraged more UAE teenagers to learn Chinese and engage with their Chinese counterparts, fostering mutual understanding and planting seeds of friendship for a better future in China-UAE relations.
Since the official launch of the \\"Hundred Schools Project\\" in July 2019, witnessed by Xi and Sheikh Mohamed, the program has expanded to 171 schools in the UAE, with 71,000 students currently learning Chinese. Recently, 40 student representatives from the Hamdan Bin Zayed School and the Yas School in the UAE wrote letters to Xi, expressing their love for Chinese culture and their aspirations to be ambassadors of China-UAE friendship.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com