For the great majority of Chinese, WeChat has become a way of life for communication, entertainment and making payments. But the platform's impact in the US has so far been limited.

That could soon change as WeChat begins to take on new partners looking to strengthen ties between the US and China.

At the WeChat US China Strong conference, Silicon Valley startup Citcon showed off the only payment processor in the US that helps merchants accept WeChat Pay.

"Last year, over 100 million Chinese people traveled outside China. Once they see this place can accept WeChat Pay, they can use their mobile phones. They will certainly receive much warmer welcome with foreign countries," CEO of Citcon Chuck Huang said.

WeChat is moving in that direction by teaming up with the US-China Strong foundation on a special WeChat account. The organization's current goal is to get one million grade school and high school students to study Mandarin in the US. Right now, that number is at about 400,000.

US-China Strong's account on WeChat essentially has three parts. There's a tab to connect will alumni, a tab to explore learning Mandarin in China. Then there's a place for fun, where one can play games to learn Chinese. And then there's something called Crazy Fresh Chinese.

Jessica Beinecke became a viral star in China by teaching English slang and culture to Chinese on Weibo and now Chinese to English-speakers.

"I absolutely think social media is a great way for the two cultures to come together. I think you are communicating with people much more often. And you are learning about them on a daily basis. The more that can happen between US and China the better," Beinecke said.

Although this is just the beginning of its collaboration with WeChat, US-China Strong hopes this platform will also allow young people to find their own ways to bridge the cultural gap.