2018 U.S.-China Young Scholars Forum

Two evolving events may impact global peace and prosperity in the coming years. First, President Donald Trump is drastically changing America’s domestic and foreign policies under the slogan “Make America Great Again.” Second, President Xi Jinping has launched a set of policies that he similarly claims will make China great again. Both leaders are driven by nationalism, which has been magnified by both conventional and new media. In fact, the mix of nationalism and media has fundamentally altered the dynamics and equilibrium of the bilateral relations between the US and China. The concern that the interests of the two nations may be on a collision course has been greatly enhanced by President Xi’s report at the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in October and the release of the Trump Administration’s 2018 National Security Strategy in December 2017.

On January 30, 16 young scholars from China and the US will present their findings on how nationalism and the media are influencing bilateral relations. On January 31 at 4 p.m., five well-known Chinese and American opinion makers will engage each other in a debate on whether the US and China are adversaries and what can be done to reduce misconception and hostility between Washington and Beijing. Many say this relationship is too big to fail; others say it is too big and complex to manage. We will see what these scholars say about this most consequential relationship in the 21st century.