OREANDA-NEWS. August 20, 2012. The Rainbow Bridge Sino-Foreign Students Cultural Exchange Program, jointly initiated by the China Next Generation Education Foundation (CNGEF) and the Americans Promoting Study Abroad (APSA), was officially launched in Beijing, with Bank of China as the sole sponsor. Gu Xiulian, vice chairman of the Tenth NPC Standing Committee, Li Lihui, president of Bank of China, Tian Shulan, chairman of the CNGEF, guests from the Ministry of Education, the U.S. Embassy and the APSA as well as participating students of the U.S. and China attended the launching ceremony, reported the press-centre of Bank of China. 

The Rainbow Bridge Program is a public-welfare event with the purpose of implementing the important initiative advocated by leaders of China and the United States to "strengthen dialogue and exchanges among the young" and of promoting Sino-U.S. educational and cultural exchanges. Every year 25 excellent students will be selected from each of two countries to learn and exchange in the other country during the summer vacation.

Li Lihui, president of Bank of China, said at the launching ceremony that Bank of China has long been committed to providing vigorous support for cultural and educational undertakings by virtue of its financial strength, and to actively promoting cultural exchanges. Bank of China, as the sole bank undertaking the national student loan business, has given financial assistance to more than 1.3 million university students in need since 2004. In 2010, the New York Branch of Bank of China joined the Board of Directors of the U.S. Lincoln Center for the Arts and has played a positive role in promoting Sino-U.S. cultural exchange. The purpose of the exclusive sponsorship for the Rainbow Bridge Program is to build a bridge of friendship to further promote dialogue between young people in the U.S. and China, and make due contributions to Sino-U.S. cultural exchange.

Li Lihui expressed his hope that the Rainbow Bridge Program will serve as a bridge of friendship to promote mutual understanding and friendship between U.S. and Chinese students, and that the participating students of the two countries will benefit from their learning experiences in the Program and become messengers for Sino-U.S. cultural exchanges and communication.

Tian Shulan, chairman of the CNGEF said that the Rainbow Bridge Program selects excellent young people from China and the United States and enables them to gain useful knowledge and ideas through the learning experience, which helps young people, on the basis of mutual respect and understanding, strengthen communication and cooperation, and assist their life development.
Under the program arrangements, the 25 American students from 10 public high schools of New York, Washington and Boston arrived in Beijing on July 1 and have participated in a series of activities with themes related to Chinese history and culture. From August 1-21, the other 25 students from China's 17 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions will leave for the United States to visit and participate in exchanges in Harvard, MIT and other world-renowned universities.