Remarks by Meihua Yan, Director
General of the National Office for Teaching Chinese as a
Foreign Language
Today, on the eve of Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to
the United States of America, representatives of the Chinese
government and the College Board are here to jointly declare
the launch of the project of an Advanced Placement Program
Course and Examination in Chinese Language and Culture.
This event is of special significance as it represents a
new development and milestone of the cultural exchange between
China and the United States.
With the progress of modern technology, the globe is becoming
smaller and smaller. People around the world have, more
than ever, felt strongly the barriers posed by differences
of languages to the exchanges among people and the progress
of humanity. And there has never been such a strong wish
to eliminate this kind of barrier. As language teaching
workers, our mission is to break this barrier; fill the
gap between languages and build a bridge of language, so
that mankind could achieve smooth communication and increase
mutual understanding for the benefit of peaceful co-existence
and common prosperity.
With a shared vision, Mr. Paige, Secretary of Education
in your country once said, as quoted by Chinese newspapers,
that knowledge and expertise about other regions, cultures,
languages and international issues has become increasingly
important; and in order to prepare American students as
world citizens, the department of education should make
all-out efforts in this regard. Mr. Paige also mentioned
that China and the U.S. are currently conducting cooperation
in the area of language training within the APEC framework,
which he believes will elevate the language teaching level
in both countries.
We are now looking forward to the forthcoming visit to the
US by the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. The continuous high-level
visits between China and the U.S. will vigorously push forward
the friendship and mutual-benefit cooperation between the
two countries in the fields like trade, education and economy.
To this common end, the National office for Teaching Chinese
as a Foreign Language,NOCFL and the College Board actively
support the initiative to put Chinese Language and culture
in the AP program. As approved by Mr. Zhou Ji, the president
of China State Leading Group for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign
Language,also the Minister of Education of China, NOCFL
is ready to strengthen cooperation with the College Board
in the areas of funds, course syllabus, examination research
and development, teachers training as well as provision
of textbooks for the successful implementation of the AP
Chinese Program as planned by our two parties.
Now the Ministry of Education of China and US Department
of Education are cooperating on the E-language learning
project. This project is the highest-level and a substantial
educational cooperative program signed by the two countries
on the eve of China’s Former President Jiang Zemin’s
visit to the US in the year of 2002. With concerted efforts
made by both sides, the E-Language learning Project has
been going well. And the internet-based Chinese teaching
will certainly be of great benefit to the AP Chinese Course
and Examination.
We are confident that the collaboration between us will
surely be conducive to the Chinese teaching in America,
to the creation of a new generation in both countries with
mutual understanding, and to the developing of a more friendly
and harmonious bilateral relationship.
We would like to express our appreciation to the College
Board, to the Chinese embassy to the US, and to all the
friends who care about AP Chinese Program. Thank you for
all the efforts you have made!
View Chinese Translation
Remarks by Ambassador Yang Jiechi
at the press conference for the launch AP Chinese
I am very pleased announce the creation of AP Course and
Examination in Chinese Language and Culture. Congratulations,
President Caperton. The initiation of AP Chinese following
SAT II Chinese by the College Board attests to the vision
of President Caperton and the importance that the College
Board attaches to advocating world languages and cultures.
I wish to thank the teaching and managing staff who are
involved in the Chinese language teaching in the United
States for their years of hard work. I wish to thank the
people from all walks of life in the United States for their
support of the Chinese language teaching. I believe that
under the leadership of President Caperton, AP Chinese will
surely succeed and prosper.
I also wish to take this opportunity to thank all the friends
present here today for your interests and support in international
education, educational exchanges between China and the United
States in particular. Ever since the diplomatic establishment
of China-US relations in 1979, more than 180,000 Chinese
from the mainland have been studying or working in the United
States, about 60,000 of them are students and scholars on
campus. Each year more than 4,000 American college students
are studying in China, and the number is growing every year.
In addition, there are also many elementary and secondary
students from the United States who go to China for brief
time of studies. All these are of positive significance
to the educational exchanges between China and the United
States and to the constructive and cooperative relations
between our two countries.
People-to-people contact between China and the United States
is an important basis for increasing mutual understanding,
fostering friendship and expanding bilateral relations.
The bridge of understanding and friendship cannot be built
without language. The Chinese and U.S. governments both
attach great importance to language teaching and learning.
Quite a number of educational exchange programs in the early
days of our diplomatic relations have been English and Chinese
languages teaching and learning. In order to facilitate
young students of our two countries to learn and master
English and Chinese, two important languages of the world,
education ministries of the two countries signed an agreement
to start the U.S.-China E-language Project in 2002, helping
elementary and middle schools of the two countries to teach
the other country’s language, thus launching the most
substantial cooperation project between the two education
ministries. Today’s announcement to officially start
AP Chinese will undoubtedly further promote the Chinese
language education in the United States, help expand bilateral
economic and trade relations, and strengthen China-U.S.
exchanges and cooperation in all fields.
Ladies and Gentlemen, China and United States share wide
and important common interests. In recent years, bilateral
cooperation in anti-terrorism, economic and trade relations,
education, combating drug trafficking, fighting smuggling
and other fields has also been further strengthened. China-U.S.
relations have on the whole maintained a good momentum of
improvement and growth.
In particular I would like to point out that the closely
maintained and enhanced contact of the leaders of both countries
contributes to the progress of the bilateral relations.
President Jiang Zemin and President Bush have paid visits
to each other last year. President Hu Jintao and President
Bush have had two meetings this year. In two days, Chinese
Premier Wen Jiabao will make an official visit to the United
States at the invitation of President Bush. Premier Wen’s
visit to the United States is the first trip to this country
by the new leadership of China. It is an important opportunity
for the two countries to further improve and develop their
relations. It will have an important and far-reaching impact
on our constructive and cooperative relations, and will
surely further promote the educational exchanges and cooperation
between China and the United States.
Ladies and Gentlemen, With China’s development and
its increasing international exchanges, I believe that the
Chinese language will be more widely used in the world and
that more and more people will realize the charms of Chinese
culture. Anyone who can speak Chinese has in possession
of the tool to communicate with the 1.3 billion Chinese
people, and of the key to a door that opens to the future
world.
I hope that more American students will study Chinese,
take AP Chinese course, and that more Chinese students will
have a good command of English. I firmly believe that as
long as the two sides enhance communications and exchanges
in various forms, increase mutual understanding and trust,
enhance friendship and cooperation, China-U.S. relations
will surely have a even better future.
I wish AP Chinese a complete success.
Thank you.
