The ability authors, musicians, and filmmakers have to tell stories can transcend geopolitics, but the current state of U.S.-China affairs offers almost nothing in terms of a meeting ground for the creatives of either side to exchange ideas. Repairing the cross-Pacific relationship will only get harder if big thinkers and storytellers cannot find a way to communicate.

Join CSIS for this hybrid event — in-person and live online — to hear from Trustee Chair in Chinese Business & Economics Scott Kennedy, who will discuss the takeaways from his recent extended research trip to China, the first by someone from the Washington think tank community since the outbreak of the pandemic. He will be interviewed and engage in discussion with Peking University Professor Wang Jisi, Founding President of Peking University's Institute of International and Strategic Studies (IISS) and one of China’s leading authorities on U.S.-China relations. They will discuss developments in domestic Chinese society, U.S.-China relations, and potential pathways to improving the relationship. This event is the bookend event to the February 2022 CSIS event, “A Beijinger in Washington”.

The nature of scholar-to-scholar exchange between Chinese and American academics and students has evolved over the years. But as bilateral relations between China and the U.S. continue to deteriorate, it’s important to consider thoughts from past Chinese scholars who spent time in the U.S. And if we want to experience any kind of diplomatic breakthrough, we must remember that we’re often blinded by what our own society deems as right.

The now ceased-China Initiative ushered in the resurgence of questioning the loyalty of foreign scientists and scholars. And similar to past outcomes, the U.S. has lost many brilliant minds that were working to contribute to the global good at our companies and universities.

U.S. and Chinese officials have grown accustomed to barbed exchanges in the public forum. It would seem that the minds of the two nations are diverging to opposing extremes. While a U.S.-China schism is undeniable, the world of academia is operating at a different wavelength than their government counterparts.

Not all conflict can be avoided through better understanding, but promoting cultural exchange is a great place to start mending relations. And as China-U.S. relations spiral, promoting study abroad opportunities, many seeking to return to normal after the pandemic, is perhaps more important than ever before.

Will the G20 foreign ministers meeting bring China-U.S. ties back on track? Only with continuous improvements in the overall bilateral atmosphere can any consensus on cooperation — and the stability of the world — be effectively guaranteed.

The crisis in Ukraine has arrested the world’s attention, especially in regards to relations with Russia. In the U.S. this has revealed a multitude of opinions about America’s threats and enemies abroad from other global powers such as China.

Senator Hannibal Hamlin of Maine was upset. The Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was unable to stop in committee or in the full Senate legisla

Zi Zhongyun, a retired scholar specializing in U.S.-China relations, is highly respected on both sides of the Pacific for her six decades of work as a researcher, diplomat, linguist, translator and writer. During the dawn of U.S.-PRC relations in the early 1970’s, she was teamed up with Zhou Enlai’s associate, Wang Bingnan to attend the huge task of bridging the gap between the U.S. and China.