12 Remarkable Lives that Shaped US-China Relations: A Look Back at a Time of Cooperation and Optimism

In March 2000, a symbolic gift from the United States Congress arrived at Fudan University in Shanghai. The package contained an American flag that had flown over the Capitol, presented as a gesture of appreciation for renowned scientist Xie Xide, who had recently passed away. Xie played a significant role in fostering cultural and scientific exchanges between the two nations.

Today, such stories seem almost unthinkable amidst the transformation of U.S.-China relations. However, the book Chinese Encounters with America: Journeys That Shaped the Future of China showcases profiles of 12 individuals who remind us of the optimism that once characterized Sino-American engagement. This optimism has waned in recent years.

The book’s twelve profiles delve into various aspects of U.S.-China exchange, which began in earnest following the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1979. The accounts encompass academics like Xie Xide, environmental activists such as Ma Tianjie, and diplomats such as Ji Chaozhu, who served as an interpreter during President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to Beijing in 1972.

As the United States and China find themselves embroiled in a period of fierce competition, these stories may be interpreted differently based on individual perspectives on the once-popular engagement policy. Nevertheless, they serve as a testament to a unique chapter in bilateral relations, albeit brief.

Co-editors Deborah Davis, a prominent sociologist on China, and Terry Lautz, author of Americans in China, argue that the book underscores the importance of finding common ground. They express concern that both Americans and Chinese are losing sight of their shared interests and the benefits that have stemmed from cooperation.

In an exchange with NPR, the editors jointly responded to questions about the issues addressed in the book. Here is an edited version of the exchange.

NPR: You expressed concern that both Americans and Chinese had lost sight of their shared interests. Why, in your view, did this occur?

Davis and Lautz: China’s emergence as a major economic and military power precipitated a decline in U.S.-China relations. Washington viewed China’s rise and its hardline diplomacy as a challenge to the existing world order. Beijing perceived the United States as a threat, particularly to its claim on the island of Taiwan. This new power dynamic undermined the long-held belief that Sino-American engagement would lead to positive, peaceful change. Instead, it fostered an environment of fear and distrust. The book aims to demonstrate the benefits of cooperation and mutual understanding despite our differences.

NPR: Briefly, how have encounters with the U.S. affected these individuals and China itself?

Davis and Lautz: The impact varied over time. Those who returned to a impoverished China during the Cold War faced different challenges and had different motivations than those who returned in the 1990s or 2000s, when China was more open politically and prosperous. The consequences of their encounters also differed by occupation – from education, dance, and diplomacy to civil society, science, and sports.

Their life stories are compelling. For instance, Xie Xide, a distinguished physicist who earned her PhD from MIT in 1951, became the first woman president of a major Chinese research university in 1983. Yet she spent years cleaning floors during the Cultural Revolution. Wang Jisi, one of China’s most prominent America watchers, spent seven years herding sheep in Inner Mongolia during the Cultural Revolution before entering Peking University in 1978. Lang Ping, a Chinese sports icon, coached the U.S. women’s volleyball team to a silver medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympics and then led China’s team to gold at the 2014 World Championships. Peng-Peng Gong was trained at the Juilliard School in New York but abandoned a prosperous career as an international concert pianist and returned to China as the resident composer of the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra in 2014, calling himself “a translator in both directions.”

NPR: Among the 12 individuals you profiled, whose story resonated with you the most – and why?

Davis and Lautz: It is challenging to choose just one, but diplomat and interpreter Ji Chaozhu stands out because his life mirrored the dramatic ups and downs of Chinese politics and U.S.-China relations. The Chinese Communist Party sent his family to New York City when he was a boy, and by the time he returned to New China in 1950, after his sophomore year at Harvard, he could barely speak Chinese.

The Foreign Ministry assigned Ji to make English transcripts of the armistice negotiations in Panmunjom during the Korean War. However, due to his American background, it took several years before he could join the Party. He was “sent down” to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution but reemerged to interpret for Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai during President Nixon’s trip in 1972 and accompanied Deng Xiaoping to the United States in 1979. There were times when he could have sought asylum abroad, but he remained patriotic, convinced that the Communist Party was the best choice for his country’s future.

NPR: The tone surrounding bilateral ties today has shifted so dramatically that some in Washington now argue engagement was a mistake from the outset. Did this perspective resonate with any of the individuals you wrote about?

Davis and Lautz: Based on their public lives, none of them would say that engagement with the United States was a mistake – for themselves, for China, or China’s relations with America. To the contrary, they returned from the U.S. with knowledge and skills that could be utilized to make China a strong modern nation. And that is exactly what they did. It was a complex process of adapting what they had learned to fit China’s needs while working to improve China’s understanding of the United States. All of them saw engagement as an opportunity to advance their careers and to enhance China’s global status.

NPR: Your book spans the Cold War, reconciliation, reform, engagement, and ends with globalization and cooperation. If you were to continue, who might you choose to profile in the current climate of rivalry and distrust?

Davis and Lautz: We would likely focus on an individual in science and technology. Consider, for example, Abigail Coplin’s chapter about Deng Xing Wang, a brilliant plant biologist who grew up in poverty in a farming village in Hunan province. When he left China for graduate study at University of California, Berkeley in 1985, no one could have imagined he would become a chaired professor at Yale University. And no one could have predicted that he would give that up and return to China to start his own company and direct a major research institute. While our governments may view “American science” and “Chinese science” as separate entities, Deng’s story demonstrates that cutting-edge research thrives on cooperation as well as competition across national boundaries.