A Look Back in Time: Experts Reflect on the State of U.S-China Exchanges Since 1985

In February of 1985, over forty-five scholars, researchers, and policy experts on US-China relations met at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii to discuss the proliferation of US-China cultural, educational, and scientific exchanges. Over four days, the participants of the Sino-American Exchanges Conference debated the consequences and opportunities of these exchanges while presenting their various research projects and results. While much of the conference focused on the American perspective of these exchanges, the participants presented accounts and data from bilateral programs and initiatives. At the end of the conference, participants Dr. Denis Simon and Dr. Joyce Kallgren collected, edited and published essays from the conference’s participants. These essays culminated into a 268-page report titled “Educational Exchanges Essays on the Sino-American Experience” which was published in 1987 by the Insitute of East Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.     

The U.S.-China perception monitor received comments from five Sino-American Exchanges Conference participants and directors, three of whom were published in the post-conference volume, almost forty years after the conference took place. In these comments, the diverse set of scholars reflected on how they felt about the future of U.S.-China education exchanges in 1985 as well as their feelings about the future of U.S.-China education exchanges in 2024. Each scholar is introduced with a short biography followed by their comment. You can also find the full conference publication at THIS link. 

Richard Masden  

In 1985, Richard Madsen was an associate professor of sociology at the University of San Diego. With an M.A. in Asian Studies and a Ph.D. in sociology from Harvard, Madsen specializes in Chinese religions and social theory. Madsen has authored fifteen books on these subjects while also being a notable speaker on U.S.-China relations. Now, he serves as the director of the first U.S.-China joint academic institution in the United States, the U.C.-Fudan Center for Contemporary Chinese Studies located in UCSD’s School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS), and guides the next generation of young Americans cooperating with China.   

 “Almost forty years ago, the meeting at the East-West Center brought together a slightly senior generation who had broken through obstacles to get the engagement started and a more junior generation that was poised to carry on the expanding engagement. The photo reminds us that, sadly, many of that older generation have passed away. Those of us who were younger then and experienced the satisfaction of building a dynamic engagement are now the old timers who have to advise a younger generation to break through new obstacles and open new paths forward.”  

Mary Bullock  

By 1985, Mary Bullock had already received both an M.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford University with the latter focusing on Chinese History. At the time of the conference, Bullock was working as the director of the Committee on Scholarly Communications with the People’s Republic of China which focused on a creating long-lasting, cooperative relationship between the two country’s scholars. Since the conference, Bullock has continued this work being an inspiring leader in her roles as an Emory University professor, the inaugural vice chancellor of Duke Kunshan University, and, most recently, the president of Agnes Scott College. Now, Bullock is promoting her new memoir “China on My Mind” which explores her journey from growing up in Asia as the daughter of two missionaries to becoming a pioneer in U.S.-China educational cooperation.   

“A great picture from the past. Reminds me of how interested and hopeful we were in the mid-1980s and how many organizations were involved in US-China academic exchanges. I continue to use the book from this conference and remember Joyce Kalgren especially. This picture also makes me sad – so many are no longer with us – Doug Murray. Mile Oksenberg. Bob Geyer, Peter Geitner, Halsey Beemer – just to mention a few.”  

Denis Simon  

In 1985, with a recent Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley under his belt, Denis Simon was working in Beijing as a General Manager for data consulting company, Accenture. Since the conference, Simon has become a notable educator and scholar of U.S.-China educational exchanges as well as science and technology development. Serving as an administrator in both United States universities, such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Arizona State University, and Chinese Universities, such as Duke Kunshan University and Fuqua School of Business, Simon has an in-depth understanding of past and future U.S.-China educational cooperation initiatives. Now, Simon spends his time advocating for the importance of U.S.-China cultural and educational exchanges as well as writing articles for various news sources.  

“The gathering at the EWC in this picture was filled with one core emotion: hope! Everyone in attendance had been involved in the pre-normalization engagement with China and obviously saw great potential deriving from an improvement in U.S.-China relations. Education exchanges, joint research, cultural exchanges, and more people-to-people interactions were all an integral part of the effort to build bridges between the two countries. Interestingly, the discussions in both the formal and informal sessions were both quite realistic and often a bit cautious as no one expected that the process of building out these various cooperative activities would be problem-free. Frankly, while some of the participants were filled with almost unbridled enthusiasm, others raised serious questions about the longer-term trajectory due to the historical, political, and cultural differences between China and the US. Unfortunately, this type of overall assessment and review of bilateral engagement did not take place every ten years given the recent history which somehow seems to have ignored all the wonderful successes that have been achieved over the last 40+ years. Given recent events in terms of the souring of relations, it was not wrong to have hope as a key driver in the early years of post-normalization. The existence of multiple channels of engagement and cooperation over four decades probably helped to steady and stabilize relations more often than we realize—the key takeaway being we must continue to invest time and effort in trying to communicate, cooperate, and collaborate whenever and wherever possible.”  

Peggy Blumenthal  

With a B.A. in Modern Chinese History from Harvard and an M.A. in American Studies from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Peggy Blumenthal started working at the Institute of International Education in 1985 as an Assistant Director of Program Development. Since the conference Blumenthal has continued her work at IIE, now serving as the Senior Counsellor to the IIE President. In this role, she oversees much of the organization’s research, scholarship programs, and educational exchanges. Blumenthal also utilizes her expertise in U.S.-China relations and bilateral educational initiatives as a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the Asia Society’s China Council.   

“Sadly, academic exchanges cannot soon recover from the decades of damage inflicted by political leaders on both sides of the Pacific. As a result, America loses a generation of China-savvy US scholars and professionals in many key fields. It also loses the talents of hundreds of thousands of Chinese students and scholars, both those who remained in America and those who returned home, building pathways for long-term collaboration.”    

David Mike Lampton  

In 1985, David Lampton was on leave from teaching at Ohio State University to work as the Principal Staff Officer and Director of Special Projects for the National Academy of Science’s Committee on Scholarly Communication with the People’s Republic of China. With an M.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford, Lampton became President of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and, later, Founding Director of The Nixon Center’s Chinese Studies Program soon after the conference. In these roles, Lampton utilized his expertise in the political, military, and energy systems found in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan to advise policy. Lampton is also a lauded author on the topic of U.S.-China foreign policy with thirteen published books. While Lampton is currently working at John Hopkin’s School of Advanced International Studies as a Senior Research Fellow, he is also busy publicizing his new book “Living U.S.-China Relations: From Cold War to Cold War.”  

“This photo, taken nearly four decades ago, stands as an epitaph of what it takes to build a field. It requires young people with aspirations; and colleagues in it for the long haul with a diversity of interests but a common purpose; the backing of government, NGOs, and the private sector; and, it takes organizational savvy. Remarkably, the overwhelming majority of individuals seen here spent their entire professional lives, one way or another, dedicated to the cause of mutual understanding and knowledge creation, remaining in the field throughout their entire careers, often moving among organizations, gaining responsibility all along the way. Also remarkable are the varied career tracks and bases represented here, from federal government to local government, from public to private universities, from multilateral organizations to NGOs, foundations, and business-related organizations. From the perspective of 2024, we must hope that today there is being taken a counterpart photo that four decades hence will be viewed with the hope and pride that this picture inspires.” 

For more on these scholars read our recent interview with Dr. David Lampton on his new book “Living U.S.-China Relations” or our recent interview with Dr. Denis Simon on the future of the U.S.-China Science and Technology Agreement.