Comprised of 20 young American China scholars, the Public Intellectuals Program expands and deepens the scholars' knowledge of aspects of China beyond their own specialties and encourages their active engagement as public intellectuals both within and beyond their professional and geographic communities.

In 1996, the National Committee brought together a group of international experts from the United States, Canada, and Thailand to present a series of best-practices workshops in China on the workings on non-governmental organizations.