Exchange to China
Each spring, the National Committee selects twelve nationally-recognized American high school graduates to participate in the annual U.S.-China Student Leaders Exchange (SLE). The heart of the program is a two-week study visit to China during the summer between high school and college, during which participants learn about China’s successes and challenges. Home stays with host families also provide exceptional opportunities for participants to meet and exchange ideas with their Chinese counterparts.
The National Committee has run the program since 2004, until it was indefinitely postponed due to the pandemic. Through 2013, the program was open exclusively to U.S. Presidential Scholars, a designation annually conferred upon up to 161 American graduating high school seniors nationwide by the U.S. Department of Education. In 2014, the program was opened to the 40 Regeneron Science Talent Search Finalists (formerly known as Intel STS Finalists), as well. In choosing participants, the Committee gives preference to applicants who have not been to China before and/or who have had only limited exposure to the country.
Exchange to the United States
In 2007, the Student Leaders Exchange also began bringing twelve outstanding Chinese senior high school students to the United States for two weeks. The U.S. visit included many of the same types of activities enjoyed by the students’ American counterparts: homestays, student-student interactions, university and high school visits, traditional sightseeing, etc. The program also included a community service component. The program to the States ran again in 2012 and 2013, but is currently on hiatus
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