“When people meet, exchange ideas, challenge one another respectfully and find common ground, they create the conditions for trust,” Pierre Englebert, Pomona College’s international relations and politics professor, said. “Trust, however gradual and imperfect, is what makes cooperation possible.”
On Saturday, Apr. 4, the Pomona America China Initiative for International Cooperation (PACIFIC), one of the Center for Global Engagement’s pilot programs, held its 2026 conference. The conference invited professors from colleges in both the United States and China to discuss the current state and future of U.S.-China relations. The conference lasted from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with speakers presenting in Edmunds Ballroom and the surrounding classrooms. The theme was “Fostering Connections For a Better Tomorrow.”
Due to external territorial disputes, the rocky relationship between China and Taiwan, and the growing power of both countries, U.S.-China relations have been unsteady in recent years. The conference created a unique opportunity for a multitude of scholars to share their research on this topic, with each professor giving an individual presentation of their specialized research.
In past years, Pomona has lacked a space dedicated to China within the International Relations (IR) department and wider community. Recognizing this limitation, members of PACIFIC decided to create a space where such discussions could be held.
The conference began with opening remarks, first from PACIFIC’s president, Tania Rachidi PO ’27, who was followed by Kara Godwin, Pomona’s assistant vice president and chief global officer. The opening concluded with a short talk given by Pomona professor and PACIFIC’s advisor, Pierre Englebert.
Each speaker stressed the need for open-minded, active conversation alongside people-to-people connection, in this time of transformation and broader global political tension.
“This group is growing a deeply enduring idea that meaningful progress in international relations, and in any field, depends not only on institutions and policies, but on people,” Englebert said. “[Progress depends] on [people’s] ability to listen to questions and connect across differences.”
University of Denver professor of Chinese politics and foreign policy Suisheng Zhao was the keynote speaker, presenting “The US-China Great Power Rivalry: From Trump 1.0 to Trump 2.0.”
He spoke passionately about the power rivalry between the United States and China during Trump’s first term in office, emphasizing the role of Trump’s mantra — “speak up, stand up, fight and win” — in his efforts to make the United States the dominating force in global politics.
Zhao explained how this rhetoric exacerbated the growing new Cold War between the United States and China, an issue that continued through Biden’s presidency as well. When Trump resumed his presidency in his second term, however, he shifted the tone of his international policies to be more cooperative, taking a less aggressive stance towards China. Zhao ended by voicing his concerns about the current state of U.S.-China relations.
“President Trump and President Xi Jinping have worked together and navigated [and stabilized] the relationship in the last year,” Zhao said. “But whether this stability will endure depends on how the leaders of both sides continue this type of navigation with allegiance, political wisdom [and] the strategy to respond to international change.”
Participants could then choose to attend one of two talks following Zhao’s presentation: “Beyond the New Cold War” by Fudan University’s Institute of International Studies professor Minghao Zhao, or “A Village’s Affair with the World” with Pomona College assistant professor of Asian languages and literatures Yanshuo Zhang.
Even during the mid-break for lunch, the discussion did not stop. Students brought conversations outside the speaker rooms, chatting with others over catered Chinese food. Between mouthfuls of mapo tofu and xiao long bao, students created new avenues for discourse.
“[During] lunch, I saw people … having discussions at the different tables,” Rachidi said. “Everything was going [smoothly]. I think this was my favorite moment.”
After lunch, Tsinghua University’s professor Kaiping Zhang presented her research on “New Media Dynamics in U.S.-China Relations.” In her talk, she discussed how the media has exacerbated tensions between the United States and China.
Her research included how a growing narrative of “humiliation, pride and sense of national security” has shaped China’s national identity. China has introduced several policies to reinstate a sense of domestic power against looming international threats.
After another series of talks and a quick tea break, the conference resumed with its last event of the day: a panel discussion moderated by Claremont McKenna College professor Terril Jones. The theme was “Bridging the Gap: What Was Missed, What Comes Next in U.S.-China Relations?” and the panelists included professors Yanshuo Zhang of Pomona, Kaiping Zhang and Michael Davidson of UC San Diego.
“[The] highlight was definitely the panel [and] how we can hear perspectives of how cooperation can work between the U.S. and China [from] different [academic] fields,” PACIFIC logistics leader Leo Liu PO ’28 said. “[They] all said they’re hopeful for the future if both sides can listen and understand each other. I really learned a lot from the panel and how important it is for us to hold this conference, [bringing] people together and [hearing] different perspectives.”
Many attendees noted that having open-mindedness and empathy in these kinds of complex conversations is rare in the current political climate. PACIFIC treasurer Jack Wang PO ’28 explained that connecting on a level separate from politics can help create a comfortable, welcoming environment — one that is critical to productive conversations.
“[The] one thing that the speakers, the team and professors kept repeating was [the importance of] people-to-people connections,” Wang said. “[Meeting] beforehand in a non-professional setting where we can just be ourselves, talk to each other, and get to know each other makes conversation a lot [smoother].”
All speakers stayed near Pomona’s campus, allowing them to briefly experience life on a college campus and personally connect with the community they came to educate — a crucial tool to achieve successful communication with a different community.
“[It’s] not just like they’re coming here for a job, it’s also that they’re becoming more integrated into the community,” PACIFIC board member Sarah Owosina PO ’29 said.
Currently, PACIFIC believes that open dialogue concerning U.S.-China relations starts by building trust with Chinese institutions. In the future, they hope to continue holding these conferences and potentially invite students alongside professors from China and vice versa to maintain these important conversations and people-to-people connections.
“I think these types of connections, people-to-people exchanges, [are] really the vision of PACIFIC,” Rachidi said. “This is what we want to expand and have in the future.”
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