Chinese Foreign Affairs University, Beijing

On Friday we had the opportunity to sit in with a graduate class at CFAU. This was probably one of the most memorable things we have done thus far. We walked into the room and I immediately noticed writing on the board that looked familiar. They had just been learning about deterrence theory, hand tying, costly signals, etc.  This being my area of interest, I was immediately excited about the coming conversation.

As far as the students, I expected them to not necessarily be unfriendly, but rather more skeptical of Americans. They were actually the opposite. I first introduced myself to a male student who promptly found a different place to sit, (he didn't seem to want to be in class) but after that I found two girls, roommates named Susie and Sun shu. These girls were both first year students and were lovely. We chatted about school and our lives at home and realized that we have a lot in common. It was extremely surprising how similar our classes were, although as students in the same field we shouldn't have been surprised. They read Waltz, Mearsheimer, and my personal favorite Schelling. I think the experience made all parties realize how similar we are, even if our cultures are very different. It was also encouraging to have a conversation with the future government workers of China about the continuation of friendly Sino-U.S. relations in spite of differences.

I look forward to meeting the students in Chengdu and Shanghai next!

Cheryl
16 May 2014