"The mission has been a great success, and we are hoping for many more," Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates and OceanX, a foundation that funds ocean exploration and media initiatives, said at the closing ceremony of A Shared Voyage: China-US Youth Friendship Program in Shanghai on April 8.

Co-organized by Ray Dalio, this program invited 20 college students from China and the United States to start a two-week journey on board the research vessel China-US Youth Friendship (OceanXplorer). The journey featured marine exploration, visits to Hong Kong, Ningbo in Zhejiang province and Shanghai, along with cultural exchange activities.

"We believe that understanding and protecting the ocean is better for us all," Dalio said.

"More importantly, we hoped that the students and scientists on board would also discover the many things they have in common," Dalio added.

He believed this would help foster a sense of warmth and mutual respect across cultural boundaries.

This program was jointly organized by the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs, the China-US Exchange Foundation, and OceanX.