The Council on Foreign Relations, Task Force Report #59, "U.S.-China Relations: An Affirmative Agenda, A Responsible Course" (April, 2007) recommends (page 93 of the report):
Education
One of the more important, but less obvious, steps the United States can take to enhance its ability to influence China is to educate Americans in Chinese studies and to expand America’s educational exchange programs with China. Accordingly, the United States should launch a major new initiative to strengthen the nation’s ability to understand and interact with China on the fiftieth anniversary of the 1958 National Defense Education Act (NDEA). This new NDEA would:
• Fund a comprehensive national educational plan designed to train a new generation of Americans about China’s language, history, economy, politics, and culture. Numerous educational institutions are continuing and expanding these programs, not only at the collegiate level, but also in primary and secondary education, often with cooperation from nongovernmental organizations (like the Asia Society) and corporations. The Task Force recommends that federal funding for these efforts should be significantly increased.
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