US students visit Shandong, Beijing for a shared Asia-Pacific future
The Future Makers 2026 China-US Youth Tour for a Shared Asia-Pacific Future took place from Sept 1 to 7. Co-hosted by the Beijing NGO Network for International Exchanges and the Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation, the event brought 100 young students from universities in the United States to China. It enabled the young students to perceive China through authentic, multidimensional and vivid scenarios; fostered more grassroots envoys ready to tell China's stories and articulateAsia-Pacific perspectives in an objective, rational and friendly manner; and built long-term youth momentum for building an open, inclusive and win-win Asia-Pacific community with a shared future.
As a key civil-society side-event of APEC's "China Year", the initiative responded to the call for expanded exchanges between Chinese and US youth. It brought together 100 young people from 10 US universities including Columbia University, Harvard University, University of Chicago and University of Washington, alongside 70 Chinese youth from Beijing and Shandong province, for a seven-day field visit and exchange program. Spanning Shandong and Beijing, the tour covered the birthplace of Confucian culture, cultural landmarks of the ancient capital and cutting-edge innovation-driven industries. It concluded with a tree-planting ceremony and closing event at Yanqi Island in Huairou district, Beijing, consolidating public support for the constructive and strategically stable China-US relationship.
The event kicked off in Shandong. Youth from the US attended the opening ceremony of the Asia-Pacific Civil-Society Conference and explored Nishan Sacred Land, Confucius Temple, Confucius Mansion and the Confucius Museum to gain immersive exposure to Confucian culture, engaging in various cultural exchanges with peers from Qufu Normal University. After the Shandong leg, the delegation took high-speed trains to Beijing for on-site visits.
In Beijing, the group toured the Palace Museum to gain insights into the profound heritage of Chinese civilization. The group visited Xiaomi's factory, the Robot World exhibition center and the Beijing High-level Autonomous Driving Demonstration Zone in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area to observe China's innovation prowess. The young people visited the Temple of Heaven and gained first-hand experience of the historical heritage embodied by this World Cultural Heritage site. The delegation then visited the Fundamental Industry Training Center at Tsinghua University, where Chinese and US youth shared perspectives on Asia-Pacific innovation and talent development. Later on, participants hiked the Mutianyu Great Wall and toured Beigou village in Huairou district. They planted Chinese white pines on Yanqi Island to build the"Forest for Tomorrow", inheriting the friendly spirit of APEC's Asia-Pacific Partner Forest. The event's closing ceremony was held on-site.
During the sharing session at the closing ceremony, young US participants recalled their experience. They noted that visits to historical sites including the Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall and the Confucius Temple, exposure to innovations such as high-speed trains and the Xiaomi factory, together with in-depth interactions with students from Qufu Normal University and Tsinghua University, offered them a first-hand look at modern China — a country steeped in tradition yet brimming with vitality.
Through classroom discussions, meals and late-night conversations, they found striking similarities in their pop-culture interests, academic pressures and life aspirations, helping break down pre-existing prejudices and misconceptions. The US youth agreed that the Future Makers 2026 China-US Youth Tour for a Shared Asia-Pacific Future had sown the seeds of friendship and deepened their understanding of the value of open exchange and mutual respect. They pledged to take what they had seen and learned back home, acting as youth envoys for China-US people-to-people friendship.
Youth represent the future and hope for China-US relations. Though this cross-ocean gathering was brief, the understanding and friendship forged between young people of the two countries will endure. Such grassroots exchanges will continue to consolidate public support for the long-term growth of China-US ties.
