Max Horne, a first-year student at Harvard, said at the latest edition of Vision China that China is his second home as he has studied Chinese since the age of 12, and paid numerous visits to the country.

When Wuhan was first hit by the outbreak, Horne filmed videos showing his support for those fighting on the front line against the virus. He said he wanted to show that the people of the United States wish to deepen engagement with China through people-to-people exchanges and through globalism.

"The need for close communication, collaboration and coordination between the world's nations is more important than ever," he said, calling for innovative, unorthodox channels to promote much-needed cross-cultural exchanges.

The Vision China event, "Young Voices: Shared Future & Better Tomorrow", was broadcast online to a global audience on Thursday evening.