In 1987, the Committee welcomed a delegation from the China Fund for the Handicapped. Headed by its founder and director, Deng Pufang (the son of Deng Xiaoping), himself wheelchair-bound as a result of a fall from a fourth-floor window during the Cultural Revolution, the delegation made stops in New York, D.C., Florida, and California, where […]
When the National Committee programmed Pittsburgh into the itinerary of a first-of-its-kind delegation of Chinese involved in the production of children's radio and television in 1983, we received a great deal of "Why Pittsburgh?" push-back from the Chinese. But we knew that any delegation looking at children's productions wouldn't be complete without a visit to […]
It was as National Committee Gala keynote speaker in 2005 that Robert Zoellick, then Deputy Secretary of State, first publicly urged China to become a "responsible stakeholder." Zoellick's much-celebrated term caused great consternation among Chinese interpreters (who, interestingly, had significant difficulty coming up with a nuanced translation of "stakeholder"). Nonetheless it was quickly embraced by […]
In the early 1980s, the National Committee purchased shoushan (alibaster found in Fujian) stone topped by a mythological beast and commissioned a local artist in China to carve the Committee's name in Chinese into it. The resulting seal — nine traditional characters, 美中關系全國委員會, read top to bottom, right to left — quickly became the basis for the National Committee's logo.
It was the National Committee that first brought future kung-fu movie star Jet Li to the United States — at age 11. Li was part of a four-week wushu (martial arts) team tour in 1974. The group performed in Hawaii, San Francisco, New York, and Washington, D.C., where they were received by President Nixon and Secretary […]
The National Committee has had a close working relationship with every U.S. ambassador to the People's Republic of China, all of whom have served on our board after returning from Beijing.
Between 1980 and 2003, we held Scholar Orientation Programs — two-week introductions to American society and culture for top Chinese students in the U.S. That program inspired our much bigger annual Foreign Policy Colloquium, which brings 150 U.S.-based Chinese grad students to Washington, D.C. for a three-day meeting on American foreign policy, and our Diplomat […]
When the National Committee was established in 1966, its founders included academics interested in a balanced debate about American policies toward China, businesspeople eager to open China's markets, and Quakers and other peace activists determined not to repeat the mistakes of the McCarthy era. Our programs continue to reflect the diverse backgrounds of our founders: we […]
Tennis champ Stan Smith and Supreme Court justice Anthony Kennedy have at least one thing in common: both first traveled to China through the National Committee. Smith went in 1977 on a tennis exchange, Kennedy in 1995 for meetings with judicial colleagues.
Continuing a long tradition of congressional education — we sent the first delegation of congressional staffers to China in 1976, even before the normalization of relations — the National Committee today regularly escorts delegations of members of Congress and their staff to China.