Two days after he arrived at Duke Kunshan University in Jiangsu province in mid-2022, American student Noah Caplan decided to go to Shanghai for dinner. The 50-kilometer journey took more than four hours because he mistakenly took a slower train instead of a high-speed train. Back then, navigating China’s transport system and digital payments was a challenge for foreign visitors. But by the time he graduated in May this year, Caplan could make the same journey in just under an hour. The distance had not changed, but he had.
This minor incident illustrates an important aspect of international exchange: understanding another country is not just about following its politics or reading its history. It often involves everyday experiences: finding your way around a new city, understanding local lifestyles, and making friends along the way.
As China prepares to host the 2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, the world will be watching Washington and Beijing for signs of cooperation on critical global issues. While much attention will focus on trade, technology, national security and geopolitical competition, the experiences of students like Caplan underscore the importance of grassroots, or people-to-people, exchanges in rebuilding mutual understanding between the peoples of the two countries.
For over four decades, China-US relations benefited from extensive connections beyond official diplomacy. University partnerships, student exchanges, sister-city relationships, business associations, cultural programs and professional networks enabled Americans and Chinese to understand each other through direct experiences rather than political rhetoric. While these relationships have not eliminated disagreements, they have established a foundation of familiarity, trust and practical cooperation.
Building on this foundation requires more opportunities for engagement. Educational and cultural exchanges can help younger generations develop a more nuanced understanding of each other’s countries. China’s 2023 initiative to invite 50,000 young Americans for educational and cultural exchanges over a period of five years met its target ahead of schedule in 2026. In September, China announced a plan to invite 100,000 young Americans for study and exchange programs over the next five years. Sister-city partnerships also provide a framework for local cooperation. These achievements are meaningful, though their long-term value depends on whether visits evolve into sustained relationships rather than isolated experiences or academic tourism.
These exchanges are important because they challenge stereotypes. Many US people form impressions of China through political reporting and media narratives, while many Chinese view the US primarily through news coverage and Hollywood movies. Direct interaction complicates these simplified pictures, enabling US people to appreciate the diversity of Chinese society, and vice versa.
American David Plymire’s story offers another glimpse into the lasting ties that can grow from personal encounters. He spent 17 years of his childhood in Huangyuan county, Qinghai province, and returned to China in 1987 after 38 years away. In the years that followed, he made more than 20 trips between the United States and his childhood home, helping bring medical equipment worth millions of dollars to local hospitals and supporting education through teacher-training programs in the US. What began as a connection formed in childhood gradually grew into decades of active engagement with the community, linking people in the two countries through shared memories and practical cooperation.
Notably, exchanges advance cooperation on practical challenges. Issues such as climate change, public health, food security, aging populations, artificial intelligence and sustainable development transcend national borders. Chinese and US universities, businesses and professional associations have considerable expertise to share. APEC’s emphasis on openness, innovation and cooperation provides an appropriate framework for expanding these connections.
While exchanges cannot settle every difference between China and the US, they provide a more informed view and make the environment conducive to collaboration.
Successful exchanges need sustained commitment and active participation from both countries, predictable travel and visa arrangements and constructive institutional partnerships. They must also be reciprocal. Inviting US students to China is valuable, but encouraging Chinese students, scholars and professionals to engage with US institutions is equally important.
Alongside economic and diplomatic initiatives, APEC leaders could encourage universities, local governments, chambers of commerce, youth organizations and professional associations to establish more meaningful cross-border exchange programs.
A practical way to expand these exchanges would be to bring together cities, universities and young professionals from across the Asia-Pacific region. Joint summer institutes could focus on electric vehicles, robotics, entrepreneurship, climate resilience, public health and sustainable development. Participation should extend beyond major coastal cities and elite institutions to include the US heartland, China’s interior regions, community colleges, smaller universities and local businesses.
The greatest value of grassroots diplomacy is not immediately measurable. It lies in creating a generation of Americans and Chinese who understand each other’s societies, recognize their differences and realize the consequences of allowing competition to become confrontation. That is why joint ventures such as Duke Kunshan University are so important.
Major countries need diplomacy, but societies need relationships. Governments can negotiate agreements, manage crises and establish strategic frameworks, but they cannot, by themselves, create mutual understanding and trust among hundreds of millions of people.
As the APEC meeting convenes in Shenzhen, Washington and Beijing should recognize that their relationship will be shaped not only in diplomacy, but also in classrooms, laboratories, businesses, communities and friendships across the Pacific.
For a student arriving in China, the first step toward understanding the country may be as simple as getting on the right train. For the two countries as a whole, building mutual understanding requires millions of such opportunities for people to meet, learn and work together.
Grassroots exchanges will not end strategic rivalry. But they can help ensure that rivalry does not define the relationship between two peoples whose futures are deeply interconnected.
The author is the former executive vice-chancellor of Duke Kunshan University and holds a senior faculty appointment at Schwarzman College at Tsinghua University.
The views don’t necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
