Following a nearly six-year hiatus due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, the Stanford Center at Peking University (SCPKU) offered its undergraduate study abroad program, China Studies in Beijing (汉学京塾), in March 2024. Twenty undergraduates spent their spring quarter at the center, undertaking an intensive curriculum centered on China's role in world politics and the global economy with Stanford professors Michael McFaul, Jean Oi, Andrew Walder, and Scott Rozelle.

The Stanford Center at Peking University opened in 2012 under the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), establishing a home base for Stanford students and scholars to study and conduct research in mainland China. Last quarter’s spring program was lauched in collaboration with the Bing Overseas Studies Program (BOSP).

Aron Rodrigue, the Burke Family Director of the Bing Overseas Studies Program, shared, “We at BOSP are delighted to have partnered with FSI in this innovative pilot program. It is gratifying to observe its success in contributing to the study of China by Stanford undergraduates.”

Each course at SCPKU invited eight outstanding Peking University students to study alongside the Stanford cohort. Beyond the classroom, students embarked on excursions across the country, including visits to factories and companies in Chongqing and Guizhou, gaining firsthand insights into China’s economy on the ground.

The program comes at a critical moment, as the number of American students in China has dropped dramatically since the pandemic, from around 13,000 before the pandemic to just 800 today. The U.S. Ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, welcomed Stanford students on the program during a meeting at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, and commended the students’ decision to study in China during a crucial moment in the U.S.-China relationship.

This year’s curriculum focused on China’s economy, covering topics ranging from foreign trade to domestic economic growth. In addition to the courses led by FSI faculty, students joined roundtable discussions with Chinese entrepreneurs, a director from the American Chamber of Commerce, the chief economist of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and Peking University scholars.

Learning outside the classroom included exploring China’s economic landscape firsthand. In Chongqing, they toured the factory of a state-owned enterprise, Changan Automobile, and visited a national-level enterprise incubator fostering homegrown entrepreneurship. In Guizhou, students visited factories to learn about the production processes of Maotai liquor and Laoganma chili oil. During these site visits, students gained insights into both state-owned and entrepreneurial ventures in China, highlighting the complexity of the country's hybrid economy and expanding upon their coursework.

After class, students explored life in Beijing outside the Stanford Center. In a segment aired on National Public Radio about the program, Elijah Hernandez, class of 2025, shared his perspective. “Once you actually get beyond the headlines and you go down into the actual country and you get to experience how people actually live here and get to meet with people in the community, I think you start to break away from those headlines a lot more. And you get to really understand the culture for what it is.”

Stanford students are eager to learn about China, and their deep engagement with the program signals their readiness to re-engage with the country’s culture, people, and academic community. “I was deeply gratified to see so many Stanford undergraduates participate in our first full quarter abroad in China since the pandemic,” said SCPKU Director Jean Oi, the William Haas Professor on Chinese Politics in Stanford’s Department of Political Science, and a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute. “Their enthusiasm and engagement was truly inspiring. Looking ahead, we’ve already received strong interest in continuing the program and are committed to enhancing this experience further, ensuring that it remains a transformative opportunity for Stanford students.”

China Studies in Beijing is planned to be offered again in spring quarter 2025 through FSI and the Bing Overseas Studies Program. For more information, please visit https://goto.stanford.edu/csib. For further inquiries or questions, please contact the SCPKU Program Coordinator, Owen Raymond (oraymond@stanford.edu).