BEIJING, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has recently replied to teachers and students of the U.S. youth pickleball cultural exchange delegation from Montgomery County, Maryland, who have visited China under the initiative of inviting 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs in a five-year span.

Xi congratulated the delegation on its successful visit to China, saying he was pleased to see that pickleball has become a new bond for youth exchanges between China and the United States.

The future of China-U.S. relations depends on the youth, said Xi, expressing the hope that the delegation members will become a new generation of ambassadors for friendship between the two countries and make greater contributions to enhancing the friendship between the two peoples.

Earlier, the teachers and students of the delegation sent a letter to Xi, expressing their gratitude for the "50,000 in Five Years" initiative he put forward.

They shared their experience of visiting China and engaging in pickleball exchange activities in April, saying that they forged unforgettable friendships with Chinese youths during the trip.

They expressed their hope to invite Chinese young people to visit the United States.■