WASHINGTON - China's Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai has written back to about 20 American elementary students to thank them for their complimentary comments on China's efforts to protect elephants, the Chinese embassy said Wednesday.

Cui's move came after he received letters from these students from elementary schools in California and Massachusetts.

In the letters, the students applauded the efforts by China's government to ban the processing and trade in ivory products step by step, the embassy said in a news release.

Last week, the ambassador took the time to write back to each of these students in order to "express appreciation for the students' enthusiasm on protecting wildlife and told them about what China has done in this field over the past years."

"In China, it is public consensus that wildlife should be protected and illegal trade should be banned," wrote the ambassador. "In fact, China has been doing a lot more than just protecting the elephants."

"If you have a chance to visit China, you will find a lot of endangered animals well protected in their natural habitat: giant panda (as you all know), snub-nosed monkey, Tibetan antelope, red-crowned crane, Manchurian tiger, just to name a few," Cui wrote.

He also encouraged the young people of the two countries "to join hands and work together to create a better future for all the life on earth."

Cui also sent some gifts about wildlife conservation to the students along with the letters, the embassy added.