BY RUI ZHONG

Seventeen students from various disciplines across SAIS conducted a study tour of three Chinese cities from August 15-29th. The group was led by China Studies faculty and was supported by the Hong Kong based C.H. Tung Foundation.

In a presentation given to the China Studies Department on September 28th, students both summarized their itinerary and described current economic, security and political trends they observed while on their study trip. In Beijing, the students examined political organizations within the Chinese Communist Party, met with students in a joint program of Tsinghua University and SAIS, and toured facilities such as the Ministry of Finance. Their itinerary in Chongqing, the most populous city in China and an industrial center, included factory tours as well as visits to historical and cultural sites. The final leg of the tour, Shanghai, included tours of the American Chamber of Commerce, the telecommunications firm Huawei, the Shanghai Stock Exchange Floor and the Shanghai Free Trade Zone. The two-week trip also encompassed short trips to other key economic and political sights and visits to officials in security, economics, politics and academia.

The group of students on the China Studies tour included first-time visitors to China and students who had lived in or visited China prior to the trip. In presentations, a few topics discussed by students included the volatile changes in store for China’s real estate markets, its maritime security, and the possibilities of Chinese FDI in Africa. But with the variety of sights, experiences and lessons, there seemed to be something for all the participants of the China Studies Tour.