Tertius News is an AI-native newsroom: an AI model reads the source articles linked below — on this story, all of them from one outlet — and extracts what that outlet reported, claim by claim. How this works →

Xi Jinping encourages youth exchanges in letter to Hong Kong student

Chinese President Xi Jinping has written a letter to a Hong Kong university student who participated in a China-US youth friendship programme, encouraging young people to continue fostering cultural exchanges and mutual understanding. The student, Liu Runjie, described the experience as breaking stereotypes and bridging gaps between Chinese and American youths.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage May 29–31, 2026 Published Aug 14

Lead

Chinese President Xi Jinping has written a letter to a Hong Kong university student, encouraging young people from China and the United States to continue contributing to cultural exchanges and mutual understanding between the two countries, according to the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the South China Morning Post.

The letter was sent to Liu Runjie, a fourth-year electronic engineering student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), after he and other students had shared their experiences from a China-US youth friendship programme with the president. The university said on Friday that Xi expressed appreciation for the deep friendships forged through the programme and encouraged participants to keep promoting cultural exchange.

Liu was among 20 participants from both countries who took part in the two-week "A Shared Voyage: China-US Youth Friendship Program" in March and April, which included visits to Ningbo and Shanghai and time aboard a joint research vessel.

Coverage comparison

Two reports by the South China Morning Post covered the story from complementary angles. The first focused on the official announcement from CUHK, detailing Xi's message and the programme's itinerary. The second provided a personal narrative, featuring Liu's reflections on how the experience influenced his views and those of his peers.

Both reports agree on the core facts: Xi wrote the letter, Liu was a participant, and the programme involved a two-week voyage and cultural visits. The second report adds depth by quoting Liu directly, offering insight into the programme's impact on participants' perceptions.

Key claims

Xi's letter to Liu: Both reports confirm that President Xi wrote a letter to Liu Runjie after students shared their programme experiences. The university quoted Xi as appreciating the friendships formed and encouraging continued contributions to cultural exchange and mutual understanding—a claim reported by both sources.

Programme details: Both reports state that 20 young people from China and the US participated in the programme, which took place over two weeks in March and April. The itinerary included visits to Ningbo and Shanghai and time on the China-US Youth Friendship research vessel, according to the university's announcement.

Liu's personal account: The second report, based on an interview with Liu, says he felt "excited, encouraged and honoured" by Xi's reply. Liu is quoted as saying the letter recognised the programme's success and encouraged youth to act as ambassadors. He also said the voyage helped break stereotypes and bridge gaps, attributing prejudice to a lack of personal contact—a view shared only in that report and not independently verified.

Perspectives

The official framing, as presented by CUHK, emphasises Xi's role in affirming the programme and promoting bilateral friendship. Liu's personal perspective adds a grassroots dimension, highlighting the transformative power of direct exchanges. The South China Morning Post, which covers both aspects, gives prominence to the human story while not questioning the official narrative. No divergences or criticisms of the programme or the letter were reported in the available material.

(Note: The article is based on extracts from two SCMP reports. No other media coverage was included in the provided material.)

How this outlet told it

South China Morning Post as of May 29, 2026, 1:30 PM UTC

Framing: Xi Jinping encourages cultural exchanges between China and US — Positive and encouraging

Facts Included:

Chinese President Xi Jinping wrote a letter to a university student in Hong Kong
The student, Liu Runjie, participated in a China-US youth friendship programme
The programme included a two-week voyage and visits to Ningbo and Shanghai
Xi encouraged young people to continue contributing to cultural exchanges and mutual understanding

Read the source article →

South China Morning Post as of May 31, 2026, 1:31 PM UTC

Framing: Personal story of a university student who received a letter from Xi Jinping — Inspiring and heartfelt

Facts Included:

Liu Runjie's personal thoughts on the programme and Xi's letter
The impact of the programme on breaking stereotypes and bridging gaps between Chinese and American youths
Liu's experiences during the two-week maritime exchange programme
Xi's letter as recognition of the programme's success and encouragement for young people

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimChinese President Xi Jinping wrote a letter to a university student in Hong Kong, encouraging young people to continue contributing to cultural exchanges and mutual understanding between China and the United States.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via South China Morning Post as of May 29, 2026, 1:30 PM UTC
ClaimThe student, Liu Runjie, participated in a China-US youth friendship programme, which included a two-week voyage and visits to Ningbo and Shanghai.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via South China Morning Post as of May 29, 2026, 1:30 PM UTC
ClaimLiu Runjie's participation in the programme helped break stereotypes and bridge gaps between Chinese and American youths.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via South China Morning Post as of May 31, 2026, 1:31 PM UTC
ClaimThe China-US youth friendship programme had 20 participants from China and the United States.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via South China Morning Post as of May 29, 2026, 1:30 PM UTC
ClaimXi's letter was recognition of the programme's success and encouragement for young people to participate in cultural exchanges and serve as ambassadors.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via South China Morning Post as of May 31, 2026, 1:31 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 2 articles consulted: South China Morning Post 5 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-14