【On November 6, 2026, Ambassador Liu Jinsong traveled to Adelaide to present a reply from President Xi Jinping to Australian students at the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Adelaide. Representatives of teachers and students from Adelaide University and local primary and secondary schools attended the event. The full text of Ambassador Liu’s remarks is as follows:】

Distinguished Tom Steer, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Adelaide University,

Dear teachers and fellow students, 

Good morning.

It gives me great pleasure to join you here at the Chinese Consulate-General in Adelaide to mark a momentous and joyful occasion in China-Australia youth exchanges.

Not long ago, 110 teachers and student athletes from six Australian universities, including some of you here today, jointly wrote to President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. In their letter, they shared their thoughts and experiences from recent exchange activities, including the Sino-Australia Rowing and Dragon Boat Friendship Challenge in China, and expressed their best wishes for China-Australia friendship.

Today, I have travelled all the way from Canberra to Adelaide to deliver President Xi Jinping’s reply to Australian student athletes, with great excitement and a profound sense of responsibility.

In his reply, President Xi Jinping says that it is a real pleasure to receive the letter and that he is heartened to learn about your recent experience in the Sino-Australia Rowing and Dragon Boat Friendship Challenge in China. He notes that you competed alongside Chinese university students, engaged in in-depth exchanges, forged friendships that transcended borders, and created wonderful memories together. President Xi Jinping also stresses that China and Australia share a longstanding tradition of friendly exchanges, and the future of bilateral relations lies with the younger generation. He hopes that you can continue to actively contribute to the cause of friendship between the two countries, serve as torchbearers of the friendship and cooperation between the two countries, and carry forward this friendship from generation to generation. He also wishes you great accomplishments in your studies and every success in the future.

President Xi Jinping’s reply is warm and heartfelt, and rich in significance. It reflects the great importance that he personally and the Chinese side attach to Australian youth and youth exchanges between our two countries. It also conveys his earnest hope that China-Australia friendship will be carried forward from generation to generation.

Youth is a time of vitality, dreams and ambition. The future and hope of China-Australia relations lie in the youth. As the first peoples of Australia say, our stories are in the land and they will be written there forever. I hope you will cherish and reflect on the profound meaning of the reply. Share with your peers how you feel today as you receive and read this letter. Share with your friends and family what you have gained from your exchanges with your Chinese counterparts, as well as what you have seen, heard, experienced and thought during your travels in China. I also hope you will follow the example of Professor Colin Mackerras, who has visited China more than 80 times. I hope that you visit China more frequently, see the country for yourselves, and make more Chinese friends. May you carry the fire of our shared friendship and cooperation, launch a thousand ships toward a bright future, and let this connection flow endlessly, now and forever.

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The Australian teachers and students present were overjoyed, their excitement and thrill beyond words. Bathed in beautiful weather, the venue was filled with an enthusiastic atmosphere and bursts of applause. A member of the Australian delegation and student representative from Adelaide University expressed that throughout their time in China, the delegation had received a warm and friendly reception, and forged deep friendships with Chinese youth through sports competitions. To express their sincere gratitude, members of the delegation spontaneously and jointly wrote a letter to President Xi Jinping. They felt deeply honored and immensely inspired by President Xi Jinping's reply, and looked forward to the youth of both countries continuing this lasting connection to jointly shape the future of Australia-China friendly relations. Professor Steer, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Adelaide, also remarked with deep feeling that this two-way exchange builds understanding, lasting friendships and connections between our communities, and it brings together mutual learning, culture, and shared experiences of young people. Representatives of Chinese and Australian primary and secondary school students waved national flags of both countries to congratulate the visiting faculty and students. They also enthusiastically took group photos together. Wang Hongsun, Acting Consul General of the Chinese Consulate General in Adelaide, attended the event.

On the same day, other members of the visiting Australian faculty and students also received President Xi Jinping’s reply. They conveyed their joy and gratitude to the Chinese Embassy and Consulates in Australia.

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This September, the first Sino-Australian Collegiate Rowing and Dragon Boat Friendship Challenge was held in Nanjing, Jiangsu. Student representatives from Adelaide University, the University of Melbourne, the University of New South Wales, the University of Sydney, the University of Queensland, and the University of Technology Sydney competed on the same stage and engaged in in-depth exchanges with youth from Chinese universities. Before their departure from China to Australia, 110 young students from the Australian delegation jointly wrote letters to President Xi Jinping and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, sharing their experiences of visiting and exchanging in China, expressing their admiration for China's long history, culture, and technological innovation capabilities, and conveying their positive aspirations to pass on Australia-China friendship and enhance mutual understanding.