On November 1, Consul General Hong Lei was invited to visit the Chinese language immersion learning program of Barrington 220 School District in Illinois. Deputy Consul General Liu Jun, Superintendent of the School District Brian Harris, Director of Language Programs and Grants Becky Wiegel and others accompanied the Consul General during his visit.

Consul General Hong Lei visited the Station Middle School, the North Barrington Elementary School and the Early Learning Center, going around classrooms of Chinese language education and interacting with teachers and students. Consul General Hong Lei also had in-depth exchanges with ,Principal Kristen Paul of the Station Middle School and Principal Austin Johnson of the North Barrington Elementary School, as well as some parents of the students regarding Chinese language program in the district.

Consul General Hong Lei told school district administers, teachers and students that Barrington 220 School District had began its Chinese Language education program since very early on and started an immersion Chinese learning program since 2012. More and more students are learning Chinese and making grater progress in their Chinese proficiency.

Consul General Hong Lei said that both China and the United States are major important countries in the world. There is a bright prospect for the development of bilateral ties. Children represent the future of the two nations. By learning each other's languages, cultures and histories, children in both countries can deepen their mutual understanding and friendship, and foster stronger public support for the sustained, healthy and stable development of Sino-U.S. relations. Recently, Vice Premier Liu Yandong and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson co-chaired the first China-U.S. Social and People-to-People Dialogue in Washington. Both parties agreed to further strengthen educational exchanges between China and the United States. In this context, I hope Barrington 220 School District will continue to encourage and support its students’ learning of Chinese, enabling these students to serve as friendship ambassadors between China and the United States. The Consulate General of China in Chicago will continue to lend its support to the Chinese language programs for these schools as well as for their exchanges and cooperation with China.

Superintendent Harris said that following the general trend of China-US relationship and with the support of many parents, the school district decided to launch its Chinese language immersion program five years ago. The program has received increasing support from teachers, students and parents. The students all took a great interest in learning Chinese. The school district hopes to maintain close contact with the Consulate General and step up exchanges and cooperation with elementary and secondary schools in China so as to further improve the teaching of Chinese language.