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

It has been tricky to try and distill my insights from my first trip to China. In many ways, I feel even less qualified to make strong claims or confident remarks. Getting a glimpse of life in China has shown me just how vast and complex Chinese systems of law, politics, culture, and development are, and just how frighteningly little I know and embarrassingly ignorant I was about certain things. I'll try to reflect on three different aspects of this journey that were most meaningful to me.

One of my favorite and most insightful experiences was being hosted by a panel of researchers from the National Development and Reform Council, a high-level executive department of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. The fact that we were able to engage with a high-level government organ was a great opportunity in itself. But noticing how different the tone and procedures were from other events I've been to was striking. It was extremely formal and structured—the panelists read prepared remarks and there were rules of engagement and questions agreed upon beforehand. I think this was an important insight into the expectations and culture of engagement with Chinese government officials, which I am so grateful for and will be valuable nuances to remember in the future.

Our meeting with the U.S. embassy was fascinating, particularly in how they are trying to carve out areas of mutual understanding and the vital job of accurately conveying messages about U.S. intentions. The importance of accurate signaling emerged as one of the most important tools that diplomacy plays in this fraught time. Sour relations can close some doors of cooperation, but the value and importance of something as simple as conveying and communicating your respective countries' signals cannot be overstated. Given the stakes of the decisions made by these superpowers, the seemingly uncontrollable ebbs and flows of international politics, and the potential for conflict, the one thing skilled diplomats can control is effective communication. It might not solve hard problems on its own, but it can prevent them from escalating unnecessarily.

So where did this trip leave me in thoughts about the future of U.S.-China relations? Something that is quite striking is that, despite a trip of vast discovery, new knowledge, and insight, I think my perspective on the core dynamics of U.S.-China rivalry has much greater nuance but stayed largely the same. The structural realities of two great powers are hard to overlook. Neither China’s nor the United States' current leadership shows signs of cooling trade relations and, in many ways, I can better understand the Chinese perspective and sense of entitlement to be taken seriously as a world power.

In conclusion, the reality is that cultural and academic exchanges are becoming more politicized and less common, which is why the U.S.-China Student Dialogue is so important. While this perhaps did not change my or my friends' entire conception of China, it humanized a lot of it. Engaging with actual people, you realize that politics are not the driving force in our lives for the most part. Our Peking University student friends shared the same anxieties about finding an internship, meeting essay deadlines. The government officials we met with were also just trying to get through another 9-5 day and make it back to their families. I worry that without that appreciation, we can't accurately assess the implications of government actions. But I am optimistic that whatever my friends from Georgetown and Peking University do in their future that relates to China, the United States, and the world, they will do so with humanity and responsibility and that this program played a small part in it.

Niel Swanepoel (G’26) is a first-year graduate student in the Master of Science in Foreign Service program at Georgetown University focusing on science, technology, and international affairs.