美中全球议题对话项目

Living in Washington, DC, I’ve sometimes taken for granted how much time I spend talking about politics, whether it’s the way three-letter agencies affect the mechanisms of U.S. foreign policy or the way different voting demographics swing individual races for Congress or the way tech entrepreneurs are changing the way the government does business. Yet though being so close to the center of U.S.—and therefore global—political action has catalyzed incredible opportunities for me, it’s equally important to take a step back and understand the way macro-level politics and policy changes the lives of so many outside Washington at the micro-level. It’s that opportunity to take a step back and understand new perspectives on politics that has made the U.S.-China Student Dialogue such a fulfilling part of my Georgetown experience. 

As a regional and comparative studies major focusing on Asia, I’ve devoted much of my time at Georgetown University to studying U.S.-China relations, hearing so many American perspectives on whether we should enter strategic competition with China or try to work together on issues such as climate and the future of artificial intelligence (AI)—never really having the chance to understand how those policy decisions made here in Washington affect everyday people in China. The U.S.-China Student Dialogue has provided me with an opportunity not just to see U.S.-China relations from the opposite side, but to see it from individual students’ perspectives rather than from a governmental perspective.

Indeed, the conversations I’ve had through the dialogue from which I’ve learned the most have been those focused on individual experiences, rather than policy. While my group began conversations about green industrial policy, for example, by talking about tariffs and stimulus packages for producing electric vehicles, we soon began talking about the way we’ve seen Chinese and U.S. commuters differ in their attitudes to public transit and electric vehicles. In another conversation, we began talking about U.S.-China trade policy and ended up discussing how U.S. consumers respond to Chinese brands like Temu. In turn, those lower-level conversations have informed different, more philosophical discussions: how American car culture vs. Chinese mass transit might affect our countries’ approach to climate, or how U.S. consumers’ love for Chinese fashion has created new connections between us on social media and, in turn, stakes in trade talks. Seeing issues in U.S.-China relations from a human side has given me new perspectives, new ideas, and new mindsets which I will carry with me throughout the future.

However, the conversations I’ve enjoyed the most have been those far removed from politics. Whether it’s been arguing about our favorite NBA teams or discussing the new pandas at DC’s National Zoo, having the opportunity to simply chat with students not just from the United States and China, but from the United Kingdom and Malaysia, has been incredibly rewarding.

In a time of much-ballyhooed political tension, our people-to-people exchange has been a much-needed dose of human connection. I truly believe that dialogues like these provide a means of creating collaboration and revisiting misconceptions across our countries’ rivalry. I’m optimistic that our Georgetown contingent’s trip to China next month will further reinforce our friendship and, in turn, our optimism for a positive future.

Evie Steele (SFS'26) is a junior at Georgetown University studying Regional and Comparative Studies with minors in journalism and Chinese.