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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
For Immediate Release
April 28, 2006
2006/428
Media Note

United States and China Sign Agreement for Cooperation in Educational Exchanges

On April 20, 2006, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hughes and the People's Republic of China (PRC) Education Minister Zhou Ji co-signed the renewal of the United States-China Education Agreement for Cooperation in Educational Exchanges. Held on the occasion of President Hu Jintao's visit to Washington, the signing ceremony took place in the Treaty Room of the U.S. Department of State.

The agreement renews the two nations' shared commitment to providing mutually beneficial opportunities for cooperation and exchange in the educational field, including measures to enhance and increase exchange opportunities. Recognizing that open, merit-based competition is one of the defining principles of academic exchanges, the two parties agreed to explore ways in which the Fulbright Program in China can more fully embody this tenet.

The signing of this agreement highlights the fact that America welcomes foreign students and underscores the importance of the President's National Security Language Initiative and the critical role of Chinese language learning in building America's foreign language capacity. Likewise, the Chinese have demonstrated their commitment to educational exchanges by increasing their co-funding of the Fulbright Program and helping to enhance Chinese language study in the United States.

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