China Journalist Heads to Harvard to Bridge US-China Divide

A veteran China journalist, identified only as the author, is embarking on a one-year research fellowship at Harvard Kennedy School's Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia, beginning this month. The journalist, who has covered China for over 30 years, plans to travel across America to engage with thought leaders from across the political spectrum, aiming to map where superpower friction ends and shared interests begin. Before departing, the author spent three days scrubbing their phone of emails, screenshots, and WeChat threads that could be misconstrued, following advice now common among Chinese travelers to the US. This mutual wariness reflects a broader climate of structural anxieties: Washington perceives erosion of American primacy in manufacturing and superpower status, while Beijing fears a declining but dominant America is bent on containing China's rise through tariffs, technology export controls, and alliances. The fellowship appointment is at the Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia, part of the Harvard Kennedy School, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The journalist's flight to Boston occurred late last month, and the research will span a year.