Spring Break - Who Needs The Beach When You Can Solve Policy Issues?

During this past spring break, I participated in a nine-day trip to China sponsored by the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF). I was one of 20 graduate students chosen to participate in this special immersion program focusing on themes of economic reform and global security.

My travel cohort consisted of graduate students not only from Harris, but also the Law School and Social Sciences Division at the University of Chicago. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me, not only to connect with a diverse group of graduate students from other divisions, but also to fully contextualize China’s rapid rise as a global economic power and to consider its challenges for future growth. It was also an interesting time to be in China because of the National People’s Congress and President Xi Jinping was re-elected at the tail end of the trip.

My cohort traveled to three different cities in China — Beijing, Shenzhen, and Shanghai. Each city had a unique itinerary planned, which was primarily focused on back-to-back meetings with government ministries, established businesses, and technology start-ups. Two students were chosen to lead the discussions during each meeting, which ensured active participation from the entire group. Some of the government agencies we visited in Beijing were the Ministry of Finance and Environmental Protection Ministry, where we received a comprehensive overview of each government agency’s history and role in stewarding China’s plan for growth. We also spent some time at the People’s Bank of China to learn more about Chinese fiscal policy. In Shenzhen, we visited some key technology companies such as SenseTime and Huawei. Finally, in Shanghai, we met with some diverse organizations such as the Shanghai Religious and Ethnic Affairs Committee, Ctrip, Shanghai Institute for International Studies, and Baosight.

Many of our meetings and discussions were based on learning more about the organizations and their impact on business or policy goals, so it was eye-opening to attend a wide range of meetings throughout different regions in China.

Since the goal of our trip was to learn more about economic reform and security in China, there was little time left to explore each city during the day. However, I was still able to enjoy how each city had a distinct character unto its own. Beijing, being the capital city, is very politically focused; Shenzhen is a young city in southern China that is rapidly growing its technology and innovation sector, and taking advantage of its designation as a special economic zone; Shanghai is a diverse international city that has historically served as a major financial hub of China and still serves that role today.

Overall, the trip made a lasting impression on me. The program was challenging and informative; many of the topics discussed were complex yet organic.

I feel that some of the friendships and connections I was able to make on the trip will last beyond my graduate studies at Harris and I’m eager to continue exploring my interest in China for years to come.