Former US President Jimmy Carter has commended practitioners in the field of Chinese language teaching for their efforts to help enhance cross- cultural understanding between American and Chinese students.

In a letter to participants of the 8th National Chinese Language Conference, held in Atlanta, the US state of Georgia, Carter welcomed the efforts to "strengthen American and Chinese students' knowledge and understanding of the world," adding that it would prepare young generation of both countries for a productive global citizenry.

The conference was organized by the Asia Society and the US College Board from Thursday to Saturday. It was attended by 1,200 leaders and practitioners in the field of Chinese language teaching.

"These efforts are particularly significant to me, as it was Deng Xiaoping and I who opened the door for our countries' students to learn about one another's culture," Carter wrote in the letter. "Deng's visit to Atlanta and his historic trip to the United States at my invitation in 1979 were a significant turning point in the public perception of China. I am pleased by the program that continues today."

The theme of this year's conference is "Pathways to Global Engagement," with participants in the field of Chinese language and culture education and US-China education partnership joining an extensive discussion about building bridges between the two cultures.

"You can't build bridges of understanding between the United States and Asia without building significant bridges between peoples of the United States and China," said Tom Nagorski, Executive Vice President of the Asia Society during Thursday's inaugural address, invoking the mission of the institution founder John Rockefeller III back in 1956.

"You can't build effective bridges between people of the United States and China if you don't start with the language and culture, " he said, adding that the Asia Society's Confucius course network was now underway in 28 states, reaching as many as 40,000 American kids.

"In the America, you got the critics who say that why you try to influence us. But there're still a lot of people in this room who understand what gratitude is," said David Coleman, President of the US College Board. "Thank you for the vision that many more students could do things that looks impossible, which is to learn the Chinese and open up a world to them."