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

For most American students, floundering in a foreign language class is a rite of passage. As an undergraduate in the School of Foreign Service, I have misconjugated my fair share of verbs, butchered pronunciations, and improvised nonexistent vocabulary words. These courses are often a lesson in humility as much as in grammar and culture: learning and speaking a non-native language is an exceedingly difficult task. Thinking back to my own experiences meeting with conversation partners in French and Portuguese, I remembered both the nerves that preceded each encounter as well as the valuable cultural and linguistic exchange that came with it. Naturally, I would have understood (commiserated even) if our Peking University counterparts had hesitated to dive right into the nuances of geopolitics and climate policy during our English-language virtual dialogue sessions. Indeed, as box after box populated the Zoom meeting screen ahead of our first joint dialogue, I steeled myself for what I expected to be a rigid, awkward conversation — in my native tongue at that.

However, once our actual discussions began, I found my nerves quickly abated. Instead of jumping into nuanced subject-matter material, our small group broke the ice and got to know one another. From pinpointing each of our hometowns on maps of China and the United States to sharing similar music interests, we all found more in common with each other than we’d expected. At the same time, our differences in daily routines, university life, and even public transportation made clear the importance of our dialogue. Instead of operating on preconceived notions, we took an initial glimpse at lived experiences entirely different than our own. For instance, I was surprised to learn Peking University has a robust Romance languages department while our Chinese counterparts enjoyed hearing about young Americans’ opinions of Chinese culture. All the while, I remained impressed at our Chinese colleagues’ eagerness to express themselves in a language that most began learning relatively recently. As an aspiring student of foreign languages myself, I hope to emulate their approach going forward.

Beyond linguistic exchange, the Jesuit emphasis on open-mindedness and the Ignatian concept of presupposition — that is, assuming others have your best intentions in mind — guided my engagement throughout our virtual dialogue sessions. Instead of pouncing on chances to disagree, I found that each group I joined adopted a respectful demeanor without beating around the bush on important issues like climate change, technological advancement, and geopolitical spheres of influence. Had we all agreed on every question and concept at hand, there would have been no room for dialogue or discussion. Conversely, if we were unable to find any points of convergence, we’d have walked away thinking we had nothing in common. Instead, the diverse range of subjects and perspectives at hand ensured our opinions never fell across strictly dualistic U.S.-China fault lines. While cultural values and geographical location certainly played a role in shaping our perspectives, each topic splintered our group in unique and unforeseen ways. As we prepare to explore Beijing and Shanghai with newfound friends, I most look forward to probing this dynamic further: what factors contribute to our worldviews, and how do those elements transcend cultural and political differences?

Jack Willis (SFS'26) is a student at Georgetown University studying international politics and African studies.