The George Washington University chapter of Global China Connection hosted a delegation of student leaders from Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University, widely considered to be one of China’s top universities last weekend. The 13-member delegation, including the Secretary General of the Graduate Union of Tsinghua University, current and former presidents and vice presidents of the Tsinghua Graduate Union and Tsinghua Student Union, and other Student Union ministers, arrived at Union Station last Saturday night, February 12 after touring New York and Boston for the preceding week. They were met by the Executive Board of GWU Global China Connection, who escorted them back to the Marvin Center where a meeting was held to introduce the delegates to their student hosts for the weekend.
The delegates were housed by volunteer members of Global China Connection for two nights in student dorms and apartments. The following Sunday the Executive Board accompanied the Tsinghua delegation on a tour of sites of interest in Washington, DC, going to the Supreme Court, the Capitol, stopping at the American Indian Museum for a Native American lunch, before continuing on to the Air and Space Museum, American History Museum, Washington Monument, and White House.
That night, Global China Connection and the Organization for Asian Studies jointly hosted a reception in honor of the Tsinghua delegation in the Lindner Family Commons Room at the Elliott School. The reception was open to the entire student body and the general public. Among those in attendance were a delegation from the Chinese embassy lead by Counselor Wang, Director of Public Relations; Tsinghua University professor Wang Lei, George Washington Professor David Dickson, leaders from other George Washington student organizations, such as Behnam Tabelu, president of the International Affairs Society; and several U.S. government officials, area Chinese residents, and students.
In his keynote speech, Counselor Wang stressed that U.S.-China relations have become even more important since Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit in January, emphasizing current plans championed by First Lady Michelle Obama for the United States to send 100,000 students to study abroad in China over the next 7 years, and China’s plan to send 10,000 PhD students to study in the United States over the same period of time. He stressed his hopes that Chinese students in the United States will work with their American classmates to build a stronger relationship between the United States and China.
The reception for the Tsinghua delegation was well-received by the George Washington community. George Washington University student and editor of The Globe Magazine, Sam Meyers, noted, “It’s and excellent opportunity for students of different cultures to get to know each other and foster relations between the U.S. and China. GCC did an excellent job hosting the event; they have certainly done their utmost to bring a wide variety of people together to discuss pressing issues affecting the U.S. and China.”
Likewise, Barnett Coven, President of the Village Energy Project , a non-profit NGO, stated the reception, “was a monumental occurrence for U.S.-China relations which clearly evidences the strong ties between Americans and Chinese at all levels, from embassy official to university student.”
The following day, Monday, February 14th, the Global China Connection Executive Board again accompanied the Tsinghua delegation, on a tour of Goldman Sachs’ Capitol Hill headquarters before their departure for New York and then Beijing.
The Tsinghua delegates all praised the hospitality they received from Global China Connection and the George Washington University community, and strongly appreciated the demonstrated hard work underwent by Global China Connection on their behalf. Despite having stayed at other universities in New York and Boston, including Columbia University, for the preceding week, delegates stated that Global China Connection was by far their most cordial host. Former Tsinghua Student Union Minister Zheng Hongda noted that members seemed to want to form strong, honest friendships with the individual delegates, instead of simply accomplishing a task. Others commented that the touring schedule was reasonable and well-planned, and noted the special Valentine’s breakfast awaiting them before their Sunday tour.
When asked about his take on the weekend’s events, Paul Stephen, the President of Global China Connection, noted that “It is both a distinct honor and a unique opportunity for us to be able to welcome our friends from Tsinghua University to GW this past weekend. Such exchanges of culture and ideas are key to the future of Sino-American relations, and Global China Connection is proud to be at the forefront of such an exchange. The events of this past weekend have confirmed once again GCC's status as GW's strongest and most dynamic Chinese student organization, and we look forward to further activities of this caliber in the future.”
The Tsinghua University delegates and those members of Global China Connection traveling to China this summer plan on having a reunion, continuing new friendships and a relationship between Tsinghua and George Washington University.
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