STORY: American professor calls for more exchanges to improve China-U.S. relations
DATELINE: Aug. 30, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:45
LOCATION: XIAMEN, China
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Xiamen 
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): WILLIAM BROWN, American professor at Xiamen University
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): WILLIAM BROWN, American professor at Xiamen University
4. various of China
5. various of street views
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): WILLIAM BROWN, American professor at Xiamen University
7. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): WILLIAM BROWN, American professor at Xiamen University
8. SOUNDBITE 5 (English): WILLIAM BROWN, American professor at Xiamen University

STORYLINE:

William Brown, a 67-year-old U.S. professor of business management at Xiamen University in east China's Fujian Province, has been living with his family in China for more than 30 years. 

In the past years, he has been writing over 20 books to record a changing and vibrant China to help people better understand the country.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): WILLIAM BROWN, American professor at Xiamen University
"Through the 1980s, I read a lot about China and the changes. When I got to Xiamen, I saw that Xiamen was nothing like the media in the West portrayed. I found the people very happy, friendly, and excited."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): WILLIAM BROWN, American professor at Xiamen University
"But then some people said, well, you only see Xiamen in the coast, but in the hinterland it's not like that. 
So I bought a van in 1993 and in the summer of 1994, I drove 40,000 kilometers around China with my wife and two children. 
It was backward in a lot of places but the government had already been spending a lot of money to build roads even in those poor areas, because the government's policies were very far-sighted. So I started writing about all of China."

In 2019, Brown traveled across China again. And he was thrilled by the great changes that have taken place in the country.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): WILLIAM BROWN, American professor at Xiamen University
"In 2019, I drove again the same route as 1994. But in 2019 because the roads were better, it was only 32 days instead of 3 months, 20,000 kilometers instead of 40,000 kilometers because of the roads, bridges and tunnels. So China had that long vision by giving the infrastructure, giving these people the opportunity to eat for a lifetime to prosper. 
So China's changes really are a miracle. And I hope by writing these stories, it will help foreigners and Chinese better appreciate the whole country."

In Brown's opinion, the future of China-U.S. relationship is in the youth.

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): WILLIAM BROWN, American professor at Xiamen University
"I think it's true the future is in the youth. I've urged Americans to visit China and also for Chinese, especially youth to visit the U.S. to see firsthand. What do Americans really think of China? And why? The average American has no way to understand China because they only know what is reported by the media. And the only way to overcome this mass manipulation is for people to meet each other, one-on-one, or maybe at least in small groups."

Brown called for more exchanges to improve China-U.S. relations.

SOUNDBITE 5 (English): WILLIAM BROWN, American professor at Xiamen University
"China's best story is not what it says but what it does. We must expand and improve people-to-people relationships through academic, cultural and other exchanges."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Xiamen, China.
(XHTV)