The China Educational Exchange of 1950 was a cross-cultural program authorized during the 81st United States Congress by unanimous consent of the United States House of Representatives in Bill 7797, the Foreign Economic Assistance Act of 1950. The bill was an amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1948 and Economic Cooperation Act of 1948, often known as the Marshall Plan.
Background On June 24, 1949, United States President Harry Truman recommended to the 81st United States Congress a Point Four Program encompassing aid to developing countries (Second World and Third World nations) after World War II. On March 25 of the following year, Truman urged Congress for unanimous consent of the Foreign Assistance Act for underdeveloped countries confronting direct aggression, intimidation, and subversion while sustaining economic and political stability. The act, supporting five foreign-aid programs, was signed into law by the president on June 5, 1950.
Context The China Educational Exchange of 1950 originated in the China Aid Act of 1948 under Title IV of the Marshall Plan. The 1950 China educational exchange program was articulated by the China Area Aid Act of 1950, assimilated in Title II of the Foreign Economic Assistance Act of 1950:
1979 and 1984 China cultural-exchange agreements The United States endorsed agreements for cultural diplomacy with China during the Carter and Reagan administrations. U.S. president Jimmy Carter and Chinese paramount leader Deng Xiaoping met on January 31, 1979, in Washington, D.C. and signed a cultural agreement between their countries.
President Ronald Reagan made a state visit to China from April 26 to May 1, 1984. He and Premier Zhao Ziyang met in Beijing, signing the United States-China Accord for Cultural Exchange on April 30, 1984. The state reception was last held during the 1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China on February 21 to February 28 of that year. The academic student exchange program remained strong during the five decades of the Cold War.
See also Chinese Civil War Chinese Communist Revolution Cold War in Asia Republic of China (1912–1949) Republic of Formosa Sino-Soviet relations Taiwan Strait US–China Education Trust U.S. statutes and educational exchange programs: Fulbright Act of 1946 U.S. Educational Exchange Act, 1948 Finnish Educational Exchange Act of 1949 Iranian Fiduciary Trust Fund Act of 1950 Fulbright–Hays Act of 1961 FRIENDSHIP Act of 1993
Footnotes
Archival documents of U.S. Department of State
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