In 2003, the Ford Foundation commissioned the National Committee to conduct a survey of programs addressing Sino-American relations and security issues. The resulting report was updated in 2005 and again in 2006.

Under the National Committee's auspices, a delegation of 17 young American political leaders — some serving in elected positions at the state or local level, others leaders of political organizations — visited the People's Republic of China in May 1977. Assembled with the cooperation of the American Council of Young Political Leaders, it was the first such visit of its kind.

Between 2000 and 2005, the National Committee held an essay contest in honor of the late scholar A. Doak Barnett. American and Chinese graduate students submitted 1,500-word essays on topics in U.S.-China relations, with authors of the best essays receiving rewards of $1,000.

George H.W. Bush and Deng Xiaoping met for the first time in October 1975, when an 18-member delegation of American leaders active in public education on world affairs visited China to discuss international issues.

Started in September 1984 as an off-the-record gathering of leading citizens of China and America, the U.S.-China Dialogue was the first formal instance of Track II diplomacy in the Sino-American relationship. It was held every 12-18 months, alternately in China and the United States, until 2002. 

Launched when only a trickle of Chinese graduate students and scholars came to the United States for study, the Scholar Orientation Program was created to supplement academic training that Chinese scholars received at U.S. institutions by providing them with greater exposure to America's history, culture, and key institutions.

In June 2007, the National Committee worked with long-time partner, the National League of Cities (NLC), and new partner, the League of California Cities (LCC) on a ten-day study tour to Beijing, Qingdao and Shanghai for mayors, city council members, and the NLC and LCC leadership.

In 2006, ten promising graduate students were selected from the United States to join with ten each from mainland China and Taiwan to participate in a National Committee's conflict resolution program.

The purpose of these seminars for mid-career U.S. military officers who have been fast-tracked for top leadership positions but do not focus on China in their daily work is to provide them with a background on China and to brief them on issues not conventionally covered in their military training — issues such as China's domestic politics, economic development, business and trade, foreign policy, rule of law, growth of civil society, environmental concerns and climate change, energy, and the use of soft power.

Expanding U.S.-China exchange programs beyond sports and culture, the National Committee and American Society of Newspaper Editors brought the first delegation of journalists from the People's Republic of China to the United States in 1973. Since then, several hundred journalists and media executives have participated in NCUSCR exchange programs and media-related conferences, workshops, and internships.