U.S.-China People’s Dialogue

Launched in 2023, the annual U.S.-China People’s Dialogue brings together leading American and Chinese nationals from a broad range of business, social, and cultural fields to explore ways to slow, if not reverse, the alarming “trust deficit” and downward trend in Sino-American relations that have developed in the years since the 2013 Obama-Xi Sunnylands Summit. 

Jointly organized by NCUSCR and Tsinghua University’s Center for International Security and Strategy, the dialogue offers its participants the opportunity to draw upon their personal stories of engagement to discuss the value of our bilateral people-to-people connections, why so much goodwill and achievement built up over 40 years of broad and deep interactions has seemingly been forgotten amid rising mutual threat perceptions, and how, in the current geopolitical environment, people-to-people engagement can be effectively promoted and amplified in both countries, including among young people.  

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Program History

2024 U.S.-China People’s Dialogue: Charting a Path Forward  

BEIJING | NOVEMBER 20-23, 2024

The second annual dialogue brought together 14 pairs of Americans and Chinese experts to explore the value and impact of bilateral exchange in different aspects of society, culture, and the economy. See complete speaker bios and listen to dialogue remarks.

DIPLOMACY: Charlene Barshefsky, Fu Ying, Stephen Orlins, Zhu Min	HIGHER EDUCATION: Yang Bin, Jeffrey Lehman
TOURISM & ECOLOGY: Zhang Mei, Douglas Morris	ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT: Alison Friedman, Liu Tianchi
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: Kevin Xu, Zhan Xianyuan	TRANSNATIONAL MARRIAGE: Li Yangying (Caroline), Cameron Johnson, John Osburg
LONG-TERM RESIDENTS: Gong Jiong, David Moser	BUILDING ENTERPRISES OVERSEAS: Roberta Lipson, Wu Tao
FOOD: Michael Rosenblum, Cao Yu	U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS: Li Cheng, Amy Celico
BUSINESS & INVESTMENT: Deng Feng, Ming Hsieh	CULTURAL EXCHANGE: Pamela Leonard, Yuan Ming
SPORTS: Logan Tom, Yao Ming	SOCIAL MEDIA: Paul Ashton, Xu Tao

2023 U.S.-China People’s Dialogue: Our Stories, Our Ideas  

NEW YORK CITY | OCTOBER 23-24, 2023

The inaugural dialogue brought together 12 pairs of Americans and Chinese experts with similar expertise for a two-day, off-the-record discussion of the value of bilateral connections and what could be lost if those bonds were further damaged or severed before a curated audience of Americans. 

In addition to the pairings listed below, the program featured remarks and discussions led by Robert Daly, Zhu Min, Thomas Friedman, and Lu Mai. Check out the complete speaker bios.  

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