Chinese academics take first steps back to world stage after Covid-19
- Does US visit by Beijing-based think tank delegation signal a return of China’s knowledge class to international policy discussions?
- Two years of disrupted travel combined with geopolitical tensions between the US and China have kept face-to-face meetings to a minimum
Face-to-face talks between Chinese academics and think tanks and their US counterparts are slowly resuming, as disrupted travel between China and the rest of the world enters its third year.
A delegation of experts from the Centre for China and Globalisation (CCG), a Beijing-based non-government think tank, spent 10 days in the United States from late June to early July, visiting New York and Washington.
The group met members of 11 US think tanks, including the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the National Committee on United States-China Relations and the Council on Foreign Relations.
The delegation also visited the Brookings Institution, meeting its honorary president John Thornton. The two sides discussed China-US trade, the development of bilateral relations and new international political and economic patterns, according to the CCG’s official website.
The think tank representatives also visited the Chinese embassy and the US State Department.
“The CCG expert panel answered US concerns, clarified many misconceptions, and elaborated on the positions and propositions of Chinese think tanks during this trip,” the think tank’s statement said.
