On Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the May Fourth Movement at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, sharing his hopes and expectations for the Chinese youth in the new era.

President Xi stressed that Chinese youth in the new era should have lofty aspirations and strong faith, which are the driving momentum of the nation in the new era. Xi believed that despite different goals and career choices, the young Chinese can better fulfill life values while integrating the individuals into the needs of the country.

Xu Qinduo, a senior fellow at Pangoal Institution speaks highly of Xi's speech. He points out that one of the key legacies of the May Fourth Movement is patriotism, the love of the nation when it's at great peril. Patriotism, for today's young people, means working hard for the building of the nation.

Young people's responsibility

Xu indicates that in this time of enviable prosperity, China is eager to play a larger role in the global stage, despite the doubts of some critics.

"This is a critical time, because there's a concern with the rise of China: What kind of China is going to be?" Xu told CGTN.

In light of the threat of these critics, Xu believes it is the responsibility of the younger Chinese generation to open the eyes of the world not just to the economic influence of China, but also its depth and diversity.

"Young people should have this sense of duty of the time. What is the duty of the time? I would say we should align their personal pursuit, the personal development with the mission of the nation with the duty of the time." Xu told CGTN.

As Xu pointed out, young people should bear in minds the infinite goal of China: to build the country into a strong modern and socialist country in the middle of the century.

Cultural exchanges among young people

Tian Jialu, Chairman of Yiyi English thinks that it is necessary to promote cultural exchanges among young people. In her opinion, in the past, because of different cultural backgrounds, young people in China and the rest of the world have different worldviews. These years, however, by studying in China, foreign students are able to exchange ideas with their Chinese peers and vice versa, which increases their understanding of each other.

"Zhejiang University as my undergrad, there are a lot of exchange programs so a lot of Chinese students go to study in the U.S. and many American students come to study in China," Tian Told CGTN.

According to Tian, the cross-cultural communication allows them to work together in order to solve some global issues. Contemporary challenges such as climate change and food security require global cooperation to solve. As such, Tian considers it critically important that young people from different cultural backgrounds understand each other for the sake of global interests.

Xu viewed Tian's personal experience as a good example of the power of cultural exchanges. In addition, he also mentioned that it is a good tool to turn the version of "community of shared future for mankind" into reality.

Challenges Chinese young people are now facing

China today opens up opportunities for young people, while at the same time, it poses challenges to young people as well.

As Xu points out, with economic development, some young Chinese people are easily influenced by hedonism. What they care about most is business success and instant fame. Thus some young people in China are willing to speculate on the stock market for the sake of making a quick buck.

As a result, they are merely preoccupied with "finite goal" of money, but ignore the importance of their commitment to the country and society.

Xu believes that it is reasonable and understandable to focus on material benefits. However, merely seeking fortune won't bring any benefits to either themselves or the country. Xu indicates that when they are fighting for their future, they have a duty to the nation's future as well.

(Script by Chu Xiaoji )

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