American scholar highlights need for China–US people-to-people exchanges

A renowned American political scholar, Graham Allison, has called for sustained efforts to stabilise and enhance China–United States relations, China Daily reports.

The founding dean of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government emphasised that stable and improving China–United States relations are “good news for all of us.”

Allison, according to China Daily, stated this during a tour of the special exhibition “Tales of People-to-People Bonds Between China and the United States” at the Overseas Chinese History Museum of China on Saturday in Beijing.

He was accompanied on the tour by the chairman of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, Wang Linggui.

Allison, known for coining the concept of the “Thucydides Trap,” stated that the entire bilateral agenda between China and the United States, from top leadership to grassroots exchanges, would benefit from more direct interaction.

During his visit to the exhibition, Allison carefully examined historical photographs, documents and artefacts, tracing centuries-old interactions between Chinese and Americans.

He said the collection offers a crucial reminder that the two peoples have long engaged with each other in constructive ways.

“As the museum suggests, we are people-to-people — Americans and Chinese have engaged with each other; there’s a long history of successful contributions to a better world,” Allison said.

However, Allison expressed concern about the recent decline in people-to-people exchanges, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think that’s bad, and I think that the aspiration to get back to where we were before and even more is a good lesson for all of us,” he also said.

He stressed that direct engagement, whether among students, academics, businesspeople or ordinary visitors, is far more effective than speculation.

“Almost all those disagreements are better handled by people talking to each other and understanding each other, rather than imagining what the other might be doing, or might be thinking, or might be saying,” Allison further said.

When asked about the historical memory of China and the United States fighting side by side during World War II, Allison pointed to the shared sacrifice against fascism.

“Remember the Flying Tigers? Remember how much of the burden of the war China actually bore before the Americans entered the war?” he recalled.

He reflected that neither country might have defeated the Japanese invasion alone, calling that history a “good reminder” of the value of cooperation.

Before leaving the museum, Allison wrote in the guestbook: “An amazing and inspiring collection that reminds us of the many ways Chinese and Americans working together can make both nations greater and contribute to a more peaceful and prosperous world.”

The exhibition systematically traces the history of friendly exchanges between the peoples of China and the US since America’s founding.

The 100 museum artefacts on display include gold-mining tools, railroad spikes, agricultural relics, documents and newspapers, dining utensils, anti-Japanese invasion war medals and personal belongings of notable figures, offering a window into centuries-old bonds between the two nations.