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

Against the backdrop of the United States’ 2024 presidential election and rising tensions between China and the United States, bilateral dialogues remain crucial, yet are exceedingly rare. While both nations acknowledge the value of open communication—whether to foster mutual understanding or to avoid strategic miscalculations—substantive discussions, particularly on complex and sensitive issues, remain difficult. This reality is reflected not only at the governmental level but also in people-to-people exchanges. 

As a student at Georgetown University, I had the opportunity to participate in a virtual dialogue on climate change with peers from Peking University as part of Georgetown’s Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues. I approached this experience with cautious optimism. Climate change, after all, is one of the few areas where U.S.-China cooperation remains both necessary and possible. Furthermore, the Georgetown cohort was diverse, including students from various academic backgrounds, which I believed would enrich our discussions. 

Participating in Georgetown’s U.S.-China Student Dialogue program over the course of four two-hour sessions was an incredibly eye-opening and enriching experience that broadened my perspective of U.S.-China relations at a governmental and person-to-person level. I initially applied to this program as someone highly interested in environmental policy, recognizing the large role both the United States and China will have to solve in combating global climate change. I had spent the semester interning at the U.S. Department of State gaining hands-on experience with the United States’ official climate policy, but I was curious about how individuals in China viewed both the United States and China’s role in climate change and policy. I was lucky enough to be placed in the climate change focus group and spent the duration of our dialogue discussing climate change issues with a mix of Georgetown and Peking University students. 

I soon realized that even in the realm of climate change, discussions could not be separated from broader geopolitical tensions. Our initial session began with hopeful introductions, with students on both sides expressing interest in international cooperation to combat global warming. However, we soon realized that the issue of climate change could not be separated from political issues, with the upcoming 2024 U.S. presidential election strongly impacting how we felt about the future of environmental policy and our respective countries’ role in combating the climate crisis. 

By the end of our dialogue, it was clear that while significant obstacles remain, student-to-student exchanges still hold value. Even in moments of disagreement, we gained insight into each other’s perspectives and learned to navigate complex discussions with patience and open-mindedness. The conversation may not have resolved major policy disputes, but it reaffirmed the importance of keeping dialogue open—even when the path forward is uncertain. I leave the virtual dialogues feeling cautious optimism, realizing that while our backgrounds and countries were different, all of us students feel determined to do our own part in combating climate change and holding our governments accountable to work towards a global framework for combating climate change.

In an era of increasing competition between the United States and China, fostering mutual understanding through people-to-people engagement is more important than ever. While political tensions may not be easily resolved, conversations like ours serve as small yet meaningful steps toward a future where cooperation on global challenges remains possible.

Kalyn Ouk (SFS’26) is a junior at Georgetown University majoring in science, technology, and international affairs with a concentration in energy and environment and a minor in biology.