美中全球议题对话项目

The Georgetown University U.S.-China Student Dialogue study tour in Beijing and Shanghai filled me with both enthusiasm and dismay: enthusiasm for the opportunity to meet an incredible group of fellow students of international relations at Peking University (PKU) and gain a better understanding of Chinese perspectives on global issues; and dismay that ever-increasing U.S.-China tensions might limit similar opportunities for exchange in the coming years.

Throughout the virtual dialogues with our PKU counterparts, my group, which focused on people-to-people dialogue, held deep, robust discussions on issues like climate change and the Donald Trump-Xi Jinping relationship — discussions which only continued once we reached PKU’s beautiful campus. Most insightful to me as a Georgetown student learning primarily from American perspectives here in Washington, DC was one conversation focusing on China’s motivations: the PKU student I spoke with framed China’s investment in development as a means of boosting domestic consumption and American opposition to China as undue
interference in domestic affairs.

The opportunity to hear these perspectives through the dialogue, be it from students or from the scholars and leaders we met while in China, is one I’m profoundly grateful for. Even at Georgetown, here in the U.S. capital and known for its international studies, the viewpoints I’ve heard on U.S.-China relations have largely been those that focus on American opposition to China’s rise, propagating conflict over compromise between the two sides and focusing on geopolitical tension as rivals rather than on addressing other global challenges as partners. Indeed, signs of this geopolitical tension from the Chinese side were clear on our trip: the students we spoke to discussed anti-U.S. sentiment in their hometowns, for example, and I was surprised to see Chinese domestic weather reports including the weather for Taipei. Yet our shared commitment to dialogue and learning from each other allowed us to breakthrough the focus on rivalry and difference and rather discuss our shared commonalities.

On a personal level, the student exchange also allowed me to make friends across borders. Our group bonded over both our hope for a better U.S.-China future and our shared experiences as students weighted down by exams, as sports fans eagerly anticipating the NBA playoffs, and as commuters in awe of Chinese public transit. As we toured Beijing together during free time, we found ourselves connecting as individuals. My group has stayed in touch since the dialogue, and I hope we can keep our connection going as we leave our respective universities.

The trip reinforced my belief that we cannot let U.S.-China tension derail or destroy similar opportunities for people-to-people exchange. As individuals, Americans have a lot to learn from Chinese perspectives, and I only hope the PKU students we met feel the same aboutU.S. perspectives. Though U.S.-China tensions seem inevitable now, it would be tragic if we let these tensions come before a commitment to dialogue, exchange and shared learning to build toward a better future.

Evie Steele (SFS’26) is a junior at Georgetown University studying regional and comparative studies with minors in journalism and Chinese.