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

In an era of globalization and increased transnational interactions, the next generation of American and Chinese leaders will certainly encounter crises and opportunities that will test the limits of superpower cooperation. But how can today’s young people, still distant from high-level policymaking and business positions, contribute to the U.S.-China relationship at the grassroots level?

Young people in both the United States and China can help facilitate this cooperation by contributing fresh perspectives and ideas to the global discussion on key current affairs issues. As university students, we must challenge and contextualize norms established by global leaders past and present and seek to empathize with our counterparts around the world. Climate change, for example, is a crucial challenge that many current politicians fail to recognize or attempt to address. However, from my conversations with university students in both the United States and China, I realize that my generation is largely aware of the frightening truths and eager to find solutions.  Similarly, students in both the United States and China are challenging sociocultural norms surrounding gender and sexuality. While LGBT issues are still taboo in bilateral mainstream politics, I believe that young people will push these human rights concerns to the future policymaking agenda.

For the United States-China relationship in particular, my generation must avoid Cold War-esque calculations and stereotypes when looking forward to future bilateral cooperation. I believe that students on both sides of the Pacific can use this developmental period in their lives to build understanding of different peoples, cultures, and histories.

It is all too often that I encounter American students who are disinterested in learning about China because they do not believe it will be “career relevant”. Knowledge of global affairs or China should not be solely relegated to students who focus on political science or international relations in their studies; a software engineer or business negotiator should similarly care about the potential ramifications of current geopolitical circumstances on their work. Moreover, students can take advantage of the myriad of cultural exchange opportunities that many universities provide; Stanford, for example, hosts an annual bilateral conference, The Forum for American/Chinese Exchange, that fosters student-to-student relationships and “real talk” on the bilateral relationship.

It is critical that American and Chinese students care about building trust and cooperation between the peoples of our two nations. Just sixteen years into this new century, it is already clear that my generation will face horrific environmental, social, and economic problems. Without the cooperation of the world’s two largest powers, then the future may be catastrophically bleak.

Clay Garner is a senior at Stanford University majoring in East Asian Studies with a focus on media and politics. 

COMMENT FROM ZHIHANG DU (January 3, 2017):

Besides following the current in global politics, it’s important that youth constantly bring up new ideas and more over, challenge conventional mindsets in U.S.-China political interaction by providing fresh ideas and creative solutions. Also, there is still a lack of intercultural communication perspectives among common people in both China and the United States. In my Chinese friend circle, there have been many a time when Trump is treated just like a comedian rather than a politician whose actions can produce global consequences. There have also been occasions when others discussed China with me and mentioned “the military government” and the haze more than anything else about China. Nobody can grasp the whole picture, but more interactions with an open heart can help to see further and see better.