In August, SCPKU hosted Professor Andrew Walder's Summer Seminar course, "China's Largest Corporations: A Case Study Workshop," a dynamic program bringing together nine students from Stanford University and nine students from Tsinghua University. The workshop focused on in-depth analysis of China’s leading corporations, providing an unparalleled opportunity for students to explore corporate structures, business models, and international growth prospects in China’s dynamic economic landscape.

The program began with lectures and group discussions on the complexities of China’s corporate environment. The highlight of the workshop was a field trip to Qingdao, where students had the unique opportunity to interact directly with executives and managers from some of China’s most influential companies.

During the Qingdao trip, the nine Stanford students visited several major corporations, including Hisense, Haier, Tsingtao Brewery, and Shandong Port Group. These site visits offered students a chance to see the inner workings of global businesses with deep roots in China’s industrial and consumer markets. Each visit featured a sit-down discussion where students engaged with company executives and posed insightful questions. Among the topics discussed were the companies’ key export products, their strategies for maintaining export growth, and the primary international markets they target. Students explored how these companies balance domestic and international revenues, as well as their experiences with overseas investments and subsidiaries.

At Hisense, students learned about the company’s strategies for maintaining competitiveness in the dynamic global electronics market. The discussion at Haier centered on smart home innovations and how the company has successfully expanded its brand internationally through overseas subsidiaries. During the Tsingtao Brewery visit, students delved into the company’s long history and success in both domestic and international beer markets. They explored Tsingtao’s strategies for maintaining brand recognition abroad and how it positions itself in diverse cultural contexts. The visit to Shandong Port Group offered insights into the challenges of managing global trade infrastructure and logistics, providing a fascinating look at China’s growing role in international commerce.

In addition to the business analysis, students were particularly interested in how these corporations finance their overseas investments. Discussions explored various methods, including bank loans, retained earnings, and the use of international capital markets. Students also learned about the companies' plans for future global expansion, the challenges they face in extending their international operations, and the biggest successes they have achieved in global markets to date.

Students from Stanford and Tsinghua brought diverse perspectives to site visits and group discussions, creating a unique environment for intellectual and cultural exchange. The China’s Largest Corporations seminar embodied SCPKU's commitment to immersive learning experiences that prepare students to engage with the complexities of the global business environment. Through the combination of theoretical analysis and practical, real-world engagement, this workshop provided students with the tools to understand the challenges and opportunities faced by China’s largest corporations as their influence and global scope continue to expand.

*Faculty interested in leading a Summer Seminar in August 2025 may submit a proposal here.
Student applications for 2025 Summer Seminars will open in February on Stanford SOLO.

This summer, SCPKU hosted a transformative seminar titled “Digital Health, Robotics & AI for Personalized Medicine: Economic Analysis,” drawing a diverse group of Stanford students and professionals to explore the intersection of biotechnology, economics, and healthcare in China. The three-week program was led by Professor Karen Eggleston, the director of the Asia-Pacific Research Center’s Asia Health Policy Center at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.

The seminar began with a focus on the fundamentals of health economics, reviewing key concepts such as public goods, externalities, and moral hazard. This foundation was critical as students began to explore how healthcare technologies, including digital health tools and AI-enabled applications, could provide cost-effective solutions to global health challenges. Students also examined how these technologies might enhance precision health strategies to address critical issues, such as screening for chronic diseases, healthy aging, and the social determinants of health.

The course offered hands-on learning experiences through its combination of classroom sessions, guest lectures, and fieldwork. Students engaged with thought-provoking readings and podcasts, and through student-led discussions, they applied what they had learned to real-world case studies. Each student chose a reading or podcast to lead the seminar’s discussions, fostering a collaborative and interactive learning environment. 

During field trips to Zhejiang and Shandong, students visited various healthcare facilities and observed the implementation of the health solutions and technologies they had studies during the course. The field trip offered practical insights into digital health innovations such as telemedicine in rural areas, innovative diagnostic tools, and emerging technologies in elderly care.

Students also had the chance to speak with healthcare experts and policymakers. Guest lectures from figures like Dr. Kevin Schulman from Stanford’s Clinical Excellence Research Center and local health professionals such as Hongqiao Fu from Peking University’s School of Public Health provided rich perspectives on the potential and challenges of integrating new technologies into healthcare institutions.

Throughout the program, students worked in teams to develop case studies on digital health technologies in practice. These teams analyzed evidence on the social value of digital tools, assistive robotics, or AI-enabled interventions and proposed ways to adapt these technologies to different settings across East, Southeast, and South Asia. The student teams’ presentations to a panel of Chinese health economists marked the culmination of the seminar, showcasing their innovative solutions and the potential for real-world impact.

By the end of the program, students had gained a thorough understanding of health economics and the trade-offs involved in applying emerging technologies in healthcare, especially in the Chinese context. This seminar was not only an academic exploration but also a practical experience in understanding how technology can be harnessed to improve health outcomes and build more resilient health systems. This program continues SCPKU’s mission to foster global collaboration and innovation in addressing the world’s most pressing health challenges.

*Faculty interested in leading a Summer Seminar in August 2025 may submit a proposal here.
Student applications for 2025 Summer Seminars will open in February on Stanford SOLO.

Growing up, like millions of other Chinese kids, I dreamed of studying at Peking University. When I moved to the United States for high school eight years ago, I thought this childhood dream would never come to fruition, but sometimes life presents us with pleasant surprises. Never would my elementary-school self have thought that one day, I would live and study at Peking University, the academically sacred ground that has nurtured the most admirable leaders and thinkers in China.

In Summer 2023, I had the opportunity to spend three weeks at Peking University while participating in the SCPKU summer seminar. The trip was extremely rewarding and memorable for personal and academic reasons. On a personal level, prior to the trip, I had not returned to China and seen my family for over two years because of Covid-19 restrictions.

In the aftermath of the pandemic, many universities in Beijing continued to enforce strict rules regarding campus visitors. Prior to Covid-19, PKU was an open campus allowing anyone to enter freely. But afterwards, visiting the campus became difficult for those without connections to a PKU affiliate. This was the case for my close circles until I was granted PKU student status through my participation in the seminar at SCPKU. This status meant that I could invite people to campus, and in less than a month, more than ten family members and friends visited me from across Beijing, and some even flew in from another city, just for the chance to breathe in the holy air at this nationally recognized academic pinnacle. My seven-year-old niece, though born and raised in Beijing, had never had a chance to visit PKU. It was a magical experience to see her laughing and running alongside Weiming Lake out of joy, as she finally had a chance to set foot on the campus where she began to envision her future. 

From left to right: Qianmin Hu, Charles Sheiner, Lisa Lu, Tabatha Anderson, Yujing Zhang, Junliang Xu, William Doolittle

“I don’t want to leave!” I said this every day to my best friend Will, who also participated in the summer seminar. I cherished my daily promenade from the international students’ dorm across the street to the PKU campus. Walking past the scenic Weiming Lake, strolling through the scattered shade of willow trees, passing the best and brightest while they engaged in deep intellectual conversations, and arriving at SCPKU, an artistic blend of traditional Beijing siheyuan and modern design, I felt blessed. 

The three-week experience in China was also enriched by academic exchanges and explorations. Eight Stanford students from diverse backgrounds, ranging from undergraduate to graduate to PhD, shared our SCPKU experience with eight top talents from Tsinghua and Peking University. Together, we took Prof. Andrew Walder’s seminar, “China's Largest Corporations: A Case Study Workshop”, during which each of us Stanford folks collaborated with a Tsinghua or PKU counterpart and conducted detailed research on two Chinese companies from the global Fortune 500 list. 

Field visit in Zouping county

To witness China’s drastic economic change with our own eyes, we went on a weekend trip to Zouping county, a region in Shandong province and the first city that allowed foreign scholars to conduct research in China following the open-door policy in the late 1970s. We had the pleasure of meeting government officials, exchanging ideas with them in round-table meetings, and asking them questions about the government policies regarding China’s state-owned enterprises. While touring Weiqiao Textile Company Limited, a Fortune Global 500 enterprise, we marveled at a fully automated, efficient factory. To make the SCPKU summer experience full circle, in March 2024, when the Shandong Vice-Governor and a number of officials and scholars from Zouping visited APARC at Stanford, I had the great honor of sitting at the round table and translating for the meeting. 

I encourage my fellow Stanford peers interested in China to spend some time at SCPKU. Whether raised in China or stepping onto its land for the first time, whether you’ve studied Chinese for years or never whispered a single word, you will discover something new about the country, the culture, and the people you have not known. My summer 2023 experience at SCPKU was not only a dream come true for me, but also for my niece and my entire family. I will forever be grateful to Stanford for giving me this opportunity. 

On October 6, 2021, the APARC China Program hosted the panel program, "Engaging China: Fifty Years of Sino-American Relations." In honor of her recently released book of the same title, Director of the Grassroots China Initiative Anne Thurston was joined by contributors Mary Bullock, President Emerita of Agnes Scott College; Thomas Fingar, Shorenstein APARC Fellow; and David M. Lampton, Professor Emeritus at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Thomas Fingar also moderated the panel.

Recent years have seen the U.S.-China relationship rapidly deteriorate. Engaging China brings together leading China specialists—ranging from academics to NGO leaders to former government officials—to analyze the past, present, and future of U.S.-China relations.

During their panel, Bullock, Fingar, Lampton, and Thurston reflected upon the complex and multifaceted nature of American engagement with China since the waning days of Mao’s rule. What initially motivated U.S.’ rapprochement with China? Until recent years, what logic and processes have underpinned the U.S. foreign policy posture towards China? What were the gains and the missteps made during five decades of America’s engagement policy toward China? What is the significance of our rapidly deteriorating bilateral relations today? Watch now: 

For more information about Engaging China or to purchase a copy, please click here.