Prof. Jia Qingguo (Director of iGCU; Professor at the School of International Studies, PKU) speaks in an exclusive interview with @ChinaUSFocus, sharing his perspective on the state of China-U.S. relations, the role of people-to-people exchanges, and how the forthcoming US presidential election might affect these exchanges between both sides.
Prof. Jianotes several major obstacles to strengthening of people-to-people exchanges, such as negative media portrayals of China in the U.S. and the U.S. government’s increased scrutiny and restrictions on American students who have studied in China.
He indicates that under the Trump administration, people-to-people exchanges were often viewed via a political and security lens, regarded as“security risks”, whereas the Biden-Harris administration has been quite supportive of these exchanges.
Prof. Jia reckons that a Trump victory could significantly impact China-U.S. people-to-people bonds, given his team’s focus on securitizing and politicizing cross-cultural communications and interactions. He suggests that although Vice President Harris supports people-to-people exchanges and understands their value in facilitating stable bilateral ties, she has limited control over a lot of things, especially China-related issues.
Quoting President Xi,“There are a thousand reasons for us to make China-U.S. relationship work, but not a single reason to break it,”Prof. Jiareiteratesthe importance of ongoing communication between young people in China and the U.S. These exchanges, he observes, are challenging yet essential for building mutual understanding and trust, which are key to ensuring a positive future for China-U.S. relations.
Full script in Chinese available athttps://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/zmfv3unQqhPAYsE5ra7jnA
Subscription
