The status quo is undoubtedly worrying. Only 211 Americans studied in mainland China between 2021 and 2022, with a slight rebound to 700 in 2023 – a downturn from around 11,000 before Covid-19. In 2023, for the first time in 15 years, China was no longer the top source of international students in the United States, overtaken by India.
A recent Pew Research poll revealed that roughly four-fifths of Americans have an unfavourable view of China, while 70 per cent of Americans aged 65 or above view countering China as a top American priority. Reassuringly, only 28 per cent of those aged 18 to 29 share that attitude.
Yet given the pressure on politicians to out-hawk one another in the US, as well as increasingly mainstream views of both the Chinese and American establishments that the two countries are locked in bitter, intense rivalry, improvements in bilateral relations should not be expected any time soon.
That said, it is premature to give in to resignation. As governments spar, people must step up to fill the void through people-to-people exchanges. For three reasons, the youth offer a promising source of hope.
Firstly, there are clear issues that are of mutual interest to a vast majority of both Chinese and American youth – from the challenges to employment posed by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) to the detrimental effects of climate change and contagious diseases. They have much in common.
University of Colorado Boulder students discuss their climate anxiety website on campus on May 4, 2023. Photo: The Denver Post/TNS
Secondly, taking a youth-oriented angle to Sino-American dialogue circumvents the more politicised fault lines in the ongoing conversation. Youth-led sports and cultural partnerships, social media-powered dialogue and even research collaboration at high school and university levels could go a long way towards breaking down barriers.
Thirdly, trust-building takes time. It is vital that we start early. Chinese President Xi Jinping has stated that the future of China-US relations “depends on the youth”. In his recent visit to China, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with students at NYU Shanghai, where he affirmed, “I think what you’re engaged in is so important to the future of both of our countries”.
So what can be done? I have three key suggestions. The first is that Beijing and Washington should commit to increased funding and scholarships for the other country’s students. Both governments should rein in the excessive securitisation of subjects and fields by pushing back against cynics who allege espionage at every turn.
More researchers and academics should be funded through programmes aimed at bolstering multilateral cooperation between Chinese and American universities and with other international counterparts too. Washington should consider restoring the Fulbright Scholarship for mainland Chinese and Hong Kong scholars, as a gesture of goodwill.
Hong Kong’s youth delegates attend the Cop28 climate talks which were held in Dubai in 2023. Photo: Handout
The second requires educational institutions and youth associations to initiate more theme-specific working meetings and joint ventures. Chinese and American advocates and policymakers working on youth-related issues should diversify away from youth dialogues and shift into more focused collaborations.
The Cop28 Youth Climate Delegates Programme was a helpful exemplar of youth participation in the UN climate talks. A similar mechanism, but with an explicit focus on Sino-American youth-based climate change coordination, would be much welcome.
Finally, Hong Kong has a crucial role to play, given our unique concentration of top academic institutions and intellectual capital. Not only can we play host to many critical non-governmental conversations, but we must strengthen our position as a foothold for American scholars and students who are seeking a more unfettered, balanced understanding of China.
Students walk around the University of Hong Kong in 2017. Photo: Shutterstock
Many of our young entrepreneurs, academics and professionals are highly internationally connected and well-placed to serve as interlocutors speaking across cultural cleavages. The Hong Kong story is forged on the basis of our spirit of openness and pragmatism.
President Xi has declared that China is ready to invite 50,000 young Americans to China. Hong Kong should pledge to take in at least 5,000 of them. This would also go a long way towards dispelling the exaggerated and often inaccurate portrayals of both the mainland and Hong Kong by segments of the international media.
This behoves us to keep our intellectual, academic and media environment as open as possible. We must steer clear of parochialism and self-censorship to show that “two systems” can serve China by articulating a more complete depiction of “one country” to the world.
This is all the more important for the Sino-American relationship. The future of China and the US may be shaped by the decisions of those who rose to power yesterday. Yet it will be defined by those who are coming of age today, and preserved through their ability to work together for a better tomorrow.
Brian Wong is an assistant professor in philosophy at the University of Hong Kong, and a Rhodes Scholar and adviser on strategy for the Oxford Global Society
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