Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues

Xiaoxiang Chen is a junior studying business management in the School of Management at Fudan University, China. Chen’s academic interests are investments, finance, and business, as well as international affairs and political interactions. He is a professional debater and enjoys cooperating with teammates from home and abroad to develop concrete ideas for resetting the U.S.-China relationship.

Yiran Fang is a freshman at the University of California, San Diego majoring in economics. Fang is from Shijiazhuang, China, and attended high school in Pittsburgh. She enjoys baking, boxing, and learning new languages like Spanish and Japanese.

Yangtian Ye is a student in the School of Finance at Renmin University of China. Ye is from Jiangxi Province, China. She enjoys going to the gym, reading, and playing the piano, as well as challenging herself to try new things, including communicating and learning from different people.

William MacMillan is an undergraduate student at the University of Virginia, majoring in mathematics and Mandarin Chinese language. MacMillan is interested in using mathematics to conduct research in public policy, especially policy impacting U.S.-China relations. He is from Allentown, Pennsylvania, and his interests include hiking and traveling to learn different languages and cultural traditions.

John Bewley was born and raised in Hong Kong, and he is currently double majoring in political science and European studies at the University of Hong Kong. Bewley’s academic interests include Sino-EU relations, hegemonic stability theory, and public administration in colonial Hong Kong. He enjoys listening to music, visiting art museums, solitary hiking, and binge-watching Netflix.

Ta Chuan Chang is a third-year student at the University of Hong Kong pursuing a bachelor of finance in asset management and private banking. Chang is from Taipei, Taiwan, and interested in political science, especially U.S.-China relations and electoral affairs in Taiwan. In his spare time, he enjoys playing table tennis, exploring the latest technology, and reading.

Jonathon Marek, originally from Chicago, is a senior in the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, majoring in international political economy with a Chinese minor and Asian studies certificate. Marek is a project assistant with the Trade Center at the National Bureau of Asian Research, where he studies U.S.-Asia trade, innovation, and economic strategy issues. As a Mortara Undergraduate Research Fellow, he has studied Chinese rural development policy and domestic politics. He is interested in trade policy, geo-economics, and innovation policy issues as they relate to the future of U.S. involvement in Asia and strategic competition with China.

Nicole Huang is a junior at Smith College double majoring in studio art and east Asian literature, with a concentration in translation studies. Huang is interested in how countries interact with each other through aspects of art, literature, and culture as a whole. She is currently running a clothing business, interns at museums, and enjoys making art and writing poetry.

Angelina Chen, from Guangzhou, China, is a junior at Colorado College double majoring in anthropology and history-political science. Chen is currently working with the Title IX office on campus and a LGBTQIA+ youth organization in Colorado Springs. She enjoys watching documentaries, listening to music, and playing the game lan.

Tristan Murdoch, originally from Dubois, Wyoming, studies at New York University in Shanghai. Murdoch is a junior majoring in global China studies, with a focus on Chinese language, history, politics, and how China interacts with other east Asian countries and the world. He enjoys reading novels, watching films and documentaries, and spending time outdoors on hikes and other adventures.

Olia Zhang, from Xiamen, China, is a senior at New York University. Zhang developed an individualized curriculum in human experiences, community empowerment, and social transformation with a minor in global urban education. She loves food, poetry, plants, animals, films, and music.

Frank Mattimoe, from Stony Brook, New York, is a junior at New York University in Shanghai, China. Mattimoe is a double major in international relations and global China studies with a minor in Chinese language. He enjoys traveling and experiencing new cultures, as well as reading books about history and contemporary politics. Currently, he is a legislative intern at the United States House of Representatives, where he is researching contemporary U.S.-China and Eurasian relations.

Mikahla Conrad is a senior at the University of Findlay studying environmental safety and occupational health and minoring in sustainability. Conrad is from Lakeside Marblehead, Ohio, and enjoys kayaking and running. She is passionate about protecting the environment for future generations and hopes to pursue a career in environmental policy.

Shijia Wang is a junior majoring in health service and management at Hangzhou Normal University. Wang is from Ningbo, Zhejiang province. She has an outgoing personality, enjoys volunteering, and hopes to do her part to make the world a better place.

Mingqi Zhou is a junior studying health service and management at Hangzhou Normal University. Zhou is from Jining, Shandong, the hometown of Confucius and Mencius, where the Grand Canal passes through the city. He enjoys outdoor activities like hiking and cycling, and he loves to visit museums.

Jalin Marston is a senior at the University of Findlay studying animal science with minors in biology and sustainability. Marston is from East Kingston, New Hampshire. She plays softball for the University of Findlay and also enjoys riding horses and hiking. She is an avid outdoorswoman and hopes to pursue a career that will allow her to work in nature.

Spencer Kaplan, from Rye Brook, New York, is a senior at Duke University, double majoring in public policy and political science with a minor in earth and ocean sciences. Passionate about the convergence of space and security, Kaplan plans to pursue a career in space strategy and sustainability. At Duke, he researched space-based nuclear generators for NASA and the risks of the Mission to Mars. During summer 2020 he interned for the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Ultimately, Kaplan hopes to write the constitution for an international settlement on Mars.

Joanne Kim, from Joplin, Missouri, is a junior at Duke University studying public policy and pursuing a minor in psychology with an innovation and entrepreneurship certificate. Kim’s research and interests lie at the intersection of technology, ethics, and health with her previous work covering topics such as medical AI, data privacy/security, and the implications of stalkerware. She co-leads Ethical Tech, a non-partisan research initiative, and Devilthon, Duke's dance marathon and fundraising group for CMN and the Duke Children's Hospital. She is also a policy competitor and the new member training programmer as part of the Cyber Team.

Hong Pham, from Mars Hill, North Carolina, is a junior at Duke Kunshan University studying global health with a track in public policy. Pham is passionate about innovation and entrepreneurship and the study of intercultural competence and engagement. Her research is currently in intercultural engagement and international education, mobile participatory health surveillance networks, and pandemic detection, as well as health research based in Sri Lanka. In the future, Pham hopes to further advance her education in humanitarian relief and crisis management and ultimately work as an international humanitarian worker.

Lan Tang, from Shanghai, China, is a junior at Duke Kunshan University, majoring in environmental science and public policy. Since her visit to the 72nd United Nations General Assembly as a Chinese youth delegate, she has found a genuine passion for the intersection between business and sustainability. Tang was selected as an undergraduate research scholar last summer and has researched projects on ESG (environment, social, and governance) investing, biodiversity financing, and South China Sea conflicts. She is currently founding a provincial-awarded innovation project dedicated to improving literacy regarding privacy terms of Chinese mobile apps. She would like to pursue a career in sustainability consulting or green consumer-goods brands.

Valerie Ma is a senior at Georgetown University, studying international politics as well as French and Asian studies. Originally from Hong Kong, Ma went to high school in the United States. She is mainly interested in the rise of China and its intersections with East Asian foreign policy and international trade and technology. Outside of school, she enjoys drawing, dancing, and exploring new places.

Steven Vo is a junior at Georgetown University studying political economy and Chinese. Hailing from Vietnam, he currently works for the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center and serves as editor-in-chief of the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs. A global editorial board member of Young China Watchers, Vo is interested in the history of U.S.-China relations, China’s rise, and its implications for ASEAN. He enjoys film photography, cooking, and exploring new coffee shops.

Huiling Zhou is a senior at the Communication University of China majoring in broadcast journalism with a specialization in international communication. Originally from Changsha, China, Zhou’s research interests lie in political communication, as well as China’s domestic and foreign policies. She serves as managing editor of the U.S.-China Better Relations Coalition and previously worked for the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center and the Associated Press.

John Paul Rugaba is an undergraduate student at Zhengzhou University, China, majoring in software engineering. Originally from Uganda, he is a blogger, tech enthusiast, and passionate follower of global affairs and the history of foreign policy.

Coco Chai is a junior at Yale University from Beijing, China. Chai is majoring in global affairs and economics. She works to promote cross-cultural dialogue and intellectual exchange as a liaison in the Greenberg World Fellows Program and as part of Yale China In Focus, a student-run organization that facilitates conversation around Chinese socioeconomic and political affairs. She has conducted foreign policy research at the Yale Roosevelt Institute and contributed to the Yale Review of International Studies. Coco is a student-athlete and a core member of the Yale Women’s Golf Team.

Susan Lin, from New York, is a freshman at Duke Kunshan University . Susan hopes to major in either environmental policy or data science. Lin attributes her interest in international affairs to the time she spent in Ecuador during her gap year, where she witnessed real political change through dedicated grassroots efforts. She hopes to channel her education into actionable knowledge to solve the most prevalent issues of her generation, including the complex relationship between agriculture and environment as well as artificial intelligence ethics. She enjoys playing her charango, practicing muay thai and volleyball, and reading and writing.

Gavin Xu is a senior at Trinity College (Connecticut) from Beijing, China, majoring in political science and urban studies. Xu is interested in comparative politics with a specific focus on authoritarian and democratic governance in East Asia. He has assisted Trinity’s Center on Urban and Global Studies with research projects on China. As a Tanaka Research-Study Grant recipient, he conducted research on the two main political parties in Taiwan in the summer of 2019. He has interned with various government agencies in Connecticut and volunteered in local political campaigns.

Charlie Colasurdo is a sophomore at Duke Kunshan University. Originally from Westport, Connecticut, he has traveled to Singapore, Vietnam, and Thailand, where he worked in a variety of fields including sustainable construction materials development, heritage conservation, and tourism. His academic interests include Mandarin Chinese and studying the intersections of sustainable development, education, the global economy, and Asia. Colasurdo is involved in student recruitment at Duke Kunshan University, student affairs, and serves as an editor for the Duke Chronicle.

William Yuen Yee, from Los Angeles, California, is a junior at Columbia University studying political science and East Asian languages and cultures. Yee was previously awarded the U.S. Department of State’s CLS and NSLI-Y Scholarships to study in China and Taiwan. He conducts research on U.S.-China relations and international law for professor Thomas Christensen at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He also serves as a research intern for the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and he previously worked for U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and U.S. Congressman Adriano Espaillat. His interests include Chinese foreign policy, law, and journalism.

Lingli Tang is from Mianyang, Sichuan province, China. Tang is a junior majoring in global health and public policy at Duke Kunshan University. She has a strong passion for education, health, and social entrepreneurship. She is the founder of KEY club (Knowledge and Education for the Youth), and the initiator for the Blossom Program aimed at helping medical workers’ children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Patrick Beyrer, from Long Island, New York, is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania majoring in East Asian languages and civilizations, and he is also on the pre-med track. Beyrer has been involved in radiology research, served as a Chinese language hospital volunteer, and interned at a China-focused investigative research firm. He has studied abroad in China twice through the U.S. Department of State's NSLI-Y and CLS programs and is also a two-time Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellow. His professional interests lie in health care exchange between the United States and China.

Daizhuo Wu, from Guizhou, China, is an environmental science major in the School of Environment and Natural Resources at Renmin University of China. Her academic interests include U.S.-China relations and understanding the differences in rural and urban China.