The U.S. ambassador to China Jon Huntsman (Chinese name Hongbopei) visited Yuelu Academy in Hunan University on Feb. 10.

Stepping into Yuelu Academy, the ambassador as an old China hand was attracted by the profound cultural atmosphere of this One-Thousand-Year-Old Institution of Higher Education.

At the beginning of his speech in the lecture hall of the College of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Jon Huntsman made a self introduction in fluent Chinese, which won rapturous applause throughout the whole hall.

Ambassador Huntsman stated about his story related to China with emotion that he got to know the country for the first time when the elder mentioned Kissinger’s visit in China. He was curious about the ancient country since the historically significant handshake between Premier Zhou Enlai and President Nixon in 1972 which has changed the fate of both U.S. and China even the whole world. In his eyes, China’s rise should be taken as one of the most important progress in the world history in recent 30 years. China’s economic strength, military power and science & technology are in the lead of the world, stimulating the world’s expectation to the country.

The ambassador was much confident about the future of the Sino-U.S. relationship as he considered it as one of the most critical relationships throughout the world today.

He also encouraged the students to undertake more for the development of the relationship between the two countries.

link: Ambassador Jon Huntsman's Remarks at Hunan University