美中全球议题对话项目

“China watching” has become part of my routine as a Georgetown University student. Equipped with a novice scholar's patchwork understanding of the Chinese language and culture, I have often found myself digging through the People’s Daily and State Council policy documents, even plumbing the depths of WeChat for news and think pieces to get a better idea of Chinese governance, society, and culture. Nothing I have read has given me a look as profound, informative, and tangible as my foray into China with the U.S.-China Student Dialogue.

Our in-person dialogues with Peking University (PKU) students reaffirmed my belief that there are student voices in both of our countries that believe in the potential of U.S.-China dialogue and cooperation despite the geopolitical pressures bearing down on us. Though I had already felt something of this collaborative spirit in our virtual dialogues across Zoom, I was far more excited to experience the culmination of our discussions on PKU’s historic campus. The energy of the presentation session felt like a classroom, with Georgetown and PKU students not shy to ask incisive questions on aspects of presentations they disagreed with: the PKU students were not shy about expressing concerns about the United States’ role in cross-strait relations, and some Georgetown students were similarly open in questioning the viability of track II diplomacy in U.S.-China relations given the highly documented track record of Chinese intellectual property theft. At the same time, I saw more than a few GU-PKU pairs of students smile and reach out to each other to chat more about their academic passions in climate change and artificial intelligence (AI) safety. Later on, upon discovering that the PKU students had an effective 11 p.m. curfew, I took it upon myself to show a few PKU students how Americans like to socialize in the evening, which was one of my personal highlights of the trip.

We were also highly privileged to have access to the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research, affiliated with the National Development and Reform Commission, as well as the Shanghai Institute of International Studies. I am beyond grateful that the dialogue secured time for us to spend with prestigious Chinese thinkers, especially in the backdrop of the Two Sessions. Though I took umbrage at more than a few viewpoints expressed by scholars from these groups, I understood the rationality behind Chinese policy positions. I gained valuable insights into how the Chinese government drives science and tech development and certain dimensions of maritime and Taiwan policy that will serve me well in my future as a policymaker. 

I was also able to experience both sides of the Chinese development story. In Shanghai, the Zhangjiang AI Robot Valley offered insights into prioritized sectors in China for robotic development, including maritime drones and medical technology, and our visit to the NIO facility had everyone’s jaws on the floor. In our downtime, I managed to speak with a Didi (the Chinese domestic rideshare app) driver for half an hour, where he, a lifelong resident of Shanghai, told me of how he had seen the skyline rise from nothing, and how proud he was of the improvements to security and public transit in the city.

My trip not only gave me insights into attitudes in Beijing and Shanghai regarding the potential for U.S.-China collaboration and Chinese domestic development, but also into what the Chinese student experience shares and doesn’t share with that of the American one. Thanks to the dialogue and this trip, I see the people, both everyday civilians and decision-makers, behind every policy document and news article I read now. Despite the harsh reality of this new era of strategic competition, I hope to find my PKU colleagues sitting across from me at the table someday.

Andy Yang (G’26) is a first-year graduate student in the Master of Science in Foreign Service program at Georgetown's School of Foreign Service, focusing on science, technology, and international affairs