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

Now is the time to ask ourselves that very question. While governments, academia and civil society organizations all endeavor to address the global challenges, as university students, what have we got to contribute to this effort?

Despite no policy influence, limited knowledge and little practical experience, we university students have our own strength. In my opinion, the best we can offer is to tell good stories and to devise great ideas.

Telling Good Stories

“The Danger of a Single Story,” a 2009 TED talk given by the Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, warns against a single narrative that deprives a country of its diversity and that consequently reinforces the existing stereotype. While China, in the recent U.S. presidential debates, once again fell victim to the “single storyism,” the United States could presumably find itself in a similar situation.

To tell good stories is what American and Chinese university students can do to together make a difference. Thanks to all kinds of fellowships and exchange programs, university students from both sides are able to gain sufficient access to each other’s culture, which provides opportunities to enhance students’ understanding of the cultural differences and to allow us to have our unique, unbiased stories. These stories, either told by means of a Facebook post or an Instagram photo, may offer new perspectives to the friends and family around us, and may thus help avoid the trap of a single story.

Besides sharing cultural experience, students can also tell good stories by engaging in youth dialogues and symposiums where zero-sum mentality and political taboo don’t exist. Realist doctrine and government red tape often lead to remarks that are either hyper-confrontational or too polite. By contrast, frank conversations between youths from both sides will bring about thorough discussions on issues that are usually shelved for political reasons. A good story is made possible only by an intellectual conversation, not endless quarrels or platitude.

Devising Great Ideas

The advent of the digital age has completely transformed the way we innovate. Today, great ideas are no longer exclusive to Teslas and Edisons alike; everyone, has a close to unlimited access to knowledge of every discipline, can devise great ideas and make them happen.

University students can make a huge contribution by taking the lead in this trend. When we talk about young leaders today, we are talking about an unprecedentedly digitally savvy generation. Combining the familiarity with up-to-date technologies and the broad interest in various subjects, university students can devise innovative ideas to solve the dilemma in one field by borrowing wisdom from another. For instance, in global health, when experts focus on capacity building of national public health systems in low income countries, students can develop mobile applications or help the governments set up accounts on social media platforms to send disease outbreak alerts and information on health services.

With abundant exchange opportunities and innovative ideas, American and Chinese university students can make enormous contributions to U.S.-China collaboration in addressing global challenges, by disseminating great stories and proposing creative suggestions. Now, on the way to a concerted effort in global governance, university students have definitely got something that will impress the world.

Yuqian Zhang is a master’s degree student of the Tsinghua-Johns Hopkins SAIS Dual Degree Program.