A bedrock for bilateral relations

Shanghai should cherish and continue its rich history of people-to-people diplomacy with the United States, said foreign affairs experts during a forum in the city on July 21.

Yang Jiemian, president emeritus of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said that Shanghai's role in fostering bilateral ties existed even before the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. This has in turn helped to create a solid foundation for friendship between people of the two nations.

Wang Jian, director of the Institute of History under the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, pointed out that the presence of several reputable US universities in the city, such as St. John's University, Aurora University and the Law School of Soochow University, also illustrates Shanghai's importance in people-to-people diplomacy.

"The number of schools established by US people was far higher than those established by British or French," he said. "These schools had an important influence on the development of the local education sector."

Between 1854 and 1958, nearly one in five Chinese students who went to the US to study came from Shanghai, a ratio that was higher than any other city or province in the country, added Wang.

Since 2008, around 20 principals and teachers from elementary and junior high schools in Shanghai have been visiting schools in the US every year to learn new teaching methods. In 2013, 18 principals from elementary and junior high schools in the state of Tennessee came to China to observe classes in nine schools in Shanghai.

Li Yixin, a project manager at the Shanghai Institute of American Studies, said that these educators later promoted the "Shanghai model" of teaching to 18 schools in the US.

Yu Lizhong, chancellor and chairman of the board of New York University Shanghai, said American students account for roughly 60 percent of the total number of international students at the university. He noted that while many of these students did not have a positive impression of China when they first arrived, most left with a new perspective of the country.

"After experiencing life in China, these students have said that they would go back home and tell their friends and family that China is nothing like what it is usually portrayed," he said.

Jing Ying, vice chairwoman of the Shanghai People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, said both China and the US contribute greatly to the world in various fields. Despite their differences, the two nations should enhance mutual understanding and improve effective collaborations in more areas.

"The real friendship between two countries is always the sincere communication between their people," she said.