Georgetown University

06/13/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 06/13/2025 14:46

Inside Our Student-Led U.S.-China Dialogue in Beijing With Tsinghua University

This story is a part of the Student Life Blog, a blog written by Georgetown students about their experiences and life at Georgetown.

Bennie Chang (SFS'26) is a Georgetown Storyteller from San Jose, California, and studies regional studies, international business diplomacy and art. Luke Hughes (SFS '27) is a Storyteller from Lake Forest, Illinois, and studies Science, Technology, International Affairs, alongside Australia and New Zealand Studies.

We are so grateful to the students at Tsinghua University for welcoming us so warmly during the Georgetown-Tsinghua student dialogue on U.S.-China relations. From our very first virtual meeting to sharing meals on campus and climbing the Great Wall together, the experience was unforgettable. We learned so much from our peers at one of Asia's most respected universities - and we're already looking forward to staying in touch.

The spring 2025 session of the U.S-China Student Dialogue has come to a close. After a week spent in Beijing and Hong Kong, visiting several university campuses, engaging in critical discussions, trying local cuisines, and exploring historic cites, we are among over a dozen Hoyas who have been working to improve relations between our two countries, on the student-to-student level.

Our four virtual dialogues, held over Zoom, throughout March and April was just the first half of this program. We heard from Georgetown Professor Joanna Lewis about the politicization of environmental problems, and Tsinghua Professor Da Wei about the future of military politics. These conversations set the scene for our in-person trip, just a month later.

We are lucky to have discussed the role of the United Nations Security Council while enjoying Chinese pastries and Trader Joe's snacks. We are proud that we are students of Georgetown - a school that seeks to engage more with the world around us. And most of all, we are grateful to those who made this experience possible. We are so excited to share with you all some of the highlights.

Georgetown and Tsinghua University students taking a photo at the latter's quad in Beijing, China.

From Screens to Real Life: Our Dialogue Begins

Bennie and Luke

Our journey started online. Over four Zoom sessions in spring 2025, Georgetown and Tsinghua students disucssed some of the most urgent global issues: artificial intelligence, climate change and global security.

We will be honest - it felt a little awkward at first. However, by the third session, something clicked. Aanik Veedon (SFS'26) cracked a joke about finals season, and suddenly we were all laughing about our shared misery - closing our laptops after the session only to head straight to the library.

That moment broke the ice. It reminded us that before we are students of geopolitics, we are just students - swapping memes, craving travel and pulling all-nighters. Our differences became a source of learning, not distance.

Photos of the Summer Palace in Beijing, China.

Exploring the Summer Palace

Bennie

One of my favorite moments came early in the trip - our visit to the Summer Palace. Some Tsinghua University students met us at the hotel and helped us figure out how to use Didi (China's Uber), which felt like a rite of passage.

We wandered around the lake, took in the sweeping views from the top of the Tower of Buddhist Incense, and for the first time, got to talk in person. No screens. No time delay. Just conversation.

I loved learning about our counterparts' internships at Tsinghua's Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) and comparing our academic paths. It was one of those rare days when the setting, the conversations, and the company all felt perfectly in sync.

Visiting Tsinghua University's Old Gate before lunch at the dining hall.

Lunch at Tsinghua

Luke

We are one of the few American college students who can say that they have had a meal in a Chinese university dining hall!

After we hit a stopping point in our climate change working group discussions, a few of us explored campus. Our Tsinghua peers took us to their campus store, where I purchased a jersey and Meredith Foster (SFS '27) found her new favorite notebook. We then rented bikes to see several ponds on campus and eventually made our way to the dining hall. There, we tried plum juice, egg tarts and other foods, while our Tsinghua friends were shocked to hear about our expansive dessert options in Leo's back on the Hilltop.

This experience reminded me how sharing a meal with others is one of the best ways to break the ice. It also demonstrated how something as simple as a dining hall lunch is a great place to exchange one's unique culture.

Georgetown and Tsinghua University students bonded while scaling the Great Wall of China.

Climbing the Great Wall

Bennie

This was a bucket list moment, and it lived up to my expectations. The heat was intense, and the climb was brutal, but we pushed each other the whole way. When we finally made it to the top, sweaty and out of breath, the view was worth every step. There's something about accomplishing something hard together that brings people closer. This was one of those moments.

Hitting the Pavement in Hong Kong

Luke

My favorite way to explore a new city is to go for a run. I started each morning in Hong Kong by lacing up my New Balances, donning my Georgetown hat and making my way down the waterfront. This was the best way to start each day - I saw local Hong Kong residents walking to work, boats arriving in the port, coffee shops opening for business and more. I witnessed the city waking up to the world.

Luke mid-run along the Hong Kong waterfront, with a view of Tsim Sha Tsui in the backdrop.

Dialogues in Action: Working Groups

Bennie and Luke

After days of getting to know each other, it was time to roll up our sleeves and tackle the issues. Right before we left for Beijing, us students divided up into five different groups: climate change, technology, global governance, peace and security, and business and trade. Within these groups, we met to discuss the theme of this year's U.S.-China Student Dialogue: "The Future of U.S.-China Relations". The goal of these groups was to make presentations that, for example, address the areas of potential collaboration and competition in these unique policy areas. We worked in-person on Tuesday, and then presented to the whole group the following day, with time added for a question and answer portion.

Bennie and Luke discussed U.S.-China relations with Tsinghua University students through AI and Climate Change working groups, respectively.

Bennie: I joined the AI and Technology group. As an AI policy researcher, I was excited to collaborate with students who brought different perspectives to the table. We dug into ideas like standardizing AI labeling and traceability and limiting military uses of AI, especially around nuclear decision-making.

Even technical differences, like how we present slides or what platforms we use, revealed broader gaps. These gaps matter. If we don't work on interoperability now, we'll be talking past each other later.

Bennie working with the AI and Technology working group on U.S.-China relations.

Luke: I joined the Environment group, where we proposed expanding Track II diplomacy between the U.S. and China - informal but consistent channels that can remain open even in tough political climates.

I spoke about how California Governor Gavin Newsom's 2023 visit to Beijing to discuss climate change - and other examples of sub-national cooperation - represent some of the most important work happening today to address global challenges. I reflected on a conversation we had during a virtual dialogue in April with Georgetown Professor Joanna Lewis, who emphasized the potential for clean energy collaboration between Chinese and American researchers. One of my biggest takeaways was seeing firsthand how environmental issues in China are woven into every policy conversation, rather than treated as a separate political issue. That kind of insight simply wouldn't have been possible without being on the ground, having real conversations face-to-face.

Alumni Receptions

Bennie and Luke

Bennie: By the time we got to the Beijing alumni reception the night before our group presentations, Tsinghua students were not strangers but friends. I spent the evening with two seniors from my AI working group and a freshman whom I had first met virtually.

Luke speaking at a Georgetown University Alumni Association reception in Hong Kong.

We talked about our wildly different high school experiences - how theirs focused heavily on testing, while ours leaned more toward a more holistic approach. They were shocked that we only take five classes per semester while they juggle seven to ten. All of this over Peking duck under the ornate ceiling of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Beijing Clubhouse. It was magical.

Luke: I was grateful to speak at the Hong Kong alumni reception alongside Aanika and Georgetown's vice president for global engagement, Tom Banchoff. After putting down the mic to mix among the crowd gathered at the Aberdeen Marina Club on the south side of the island, I was quickly approached by dozens of high school students interested in attending Georgetown. They asked me questions about theology courses, what club life is like, and how international students adjust to school at Georgetown.

That is why I went to Beijing and Hong Kong - to help spread Georgetown's global project of reaching those whom we have not met before. At the center of my experience as a Hoya is being a student of Jesuit education - a student who aspires to utilize knowledge from the classroom and dedicate it to a career of service to the world.

The Georgetown delegation visits the Forbidden Palace in Beijing, China.

Reflections

Since we left Beijing, we talked every day with Tsinghua friends like Jenny. We rode bikes around campus, cooled off with bubble tea and exchanged gifts that represent our cultures.

What we will remember most about this trip is not just the Great Wall but people like Jenny. Friends who make us laugh, help us grow and remind us why these connections matter.

We genuinely believe that student-to-student friendships like these are the most powerful way to improve U.S.-China relations. We are so grateful to Georgetown - and especially to Tuoya Wulan and Wesley Kang from the Initiative on U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues- for making it all possible.

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