The Professional Fellows Program (PFP) is reciprocal, with fellows from China, Hong Kong, Mongolia, and Taiwan traveling to the United States for placements with American host organizations and Americans visiting Asia to continue working with the fellows they hosted. All Asian participants take part in pre-departure and post-arrival orientation programs, a four-week fellowship at a relevant host organization in the United States, and a wrap-up and evaluation session. After returning home, fellows will develop and implement a project based on and informed by their fellowship experiences.

American participants spend two weeks in China, Hong Kong, Mongolia, or Taiwan visiting their counterparts and collaborating with them on their projects, learning about life and work in the place they are visiting, and giving presentations on their work.

If the international situation makes travel impossible, we plan to proceed with virtual programming.

The National Committee on U.S.-China Relations partners with the U.S. Department of State on the Professional Fellows Program.

Read more information here: (English)(Simplified Chinese)

Application Deadline: August 15, 2025

Interested in hosting a PFP fellow?

The National Committee is seeking home hosts in locations across the United States for fellows who will be placed with U.S. non-profit, government, and civic organizations. More information about hosting fellows can be found here. 

Please click here if you are interested in hosting a PFP fellow.

Related Interview

National Committee Professional Fellows Program alumni Jo Nelson and Li Sai discuss the impact of their exchange experiences on their professional and personal lives and on their broader views of people-to-people exchange. Recorded 05/04/2021.

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PIP is a part-time commitment, intended to complement participants’ primary academic or professional positions. Through activities spread out over two years, the twenty young American scholars in each cohort have the opportunity to expand their knowledge of China beyond their own disciplines and interests by introducing them to each other as well as to specialists outside their fields. With one hundred sixty fellows since the program began, PIP has become a leading community in the American discussion on China.

The ninth, eighth, seventh, sixth, fifth, and fourth cohorts of PIP were funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York; the first three cohorts were funded by The Henry Luce Foundation and The Starr Foundation.

PIP Ninth Cohort

Applications for the ninth cohort of the Public Intellectuals Program are now closed.

Meet the Public Intellectual Program Fellows

Meet the eighth cohort fellows here. See all past PIP cohorts in our database here.

PIP Fellow Testimonials

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Launched in 2005, PIP identifies outstanding members of the next generation of American China specialists – in the academic, professional, or policymaking spheres – who, in the tradition of earlier China hands, have the interest and potential to venture outside of academia or their professions into areas relevant to foreign policy and public education.  

The two-year program is designed to enrich the twenty new fellows’ understanding of policymaking processes in both the United States and China; help them establish useful relationships both with their academic and professional colleagues and with policy practitioners; encourage them to move beyond the confines of their own disciplines; and nurture their ability to engage with the public at a national, regional, and local level. PIP is implemented through a series of activities. These include workshops in Washington, D.C., and the West Coast; an international study tour; opportunities to participate in National Committee delegations as scholar-escorts; and public education initiatives.  

PIP is an enrichment opportunity intended to complement the primary academic or professional positions held by the fellows. The program offers unique opportunities for professional development, mentoring by senior scholars, networking, and exposure. Fellows gain access to senior policymakers and experts in both the United States and China, and to individuals and fields they are not typically exposed to, such as the business, arts, health, and civil society sectors in China, as well as to the media in both countries. Fellows have access to media coaches to help edit and place op-eds and develop a social media presence.  

The eighth cohort joins an accomplished community of now 160 PIP fellows from cohorts one through seven, who have formed a strong network of mutual support and academic collaboration.  Visit our PIP Fellow Database to view bio information for all the incoming eighth cohort fellows by selecting “PIP VIII” in the search bar.

Emily Baum

Associate Professor of History, University of California, Irvine

Ling Chen

Assistant Professor, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University

Kin Cheung

Associate Professor of East and South Asian Religions, Moravian University

Tarryn Chun

Assistant Professor of Film, Television, and Theater, University of Notre Dame

Jessica DiCarlo

Assistant Professor of Geography, University of Utah

Seth Gurgel

Subject Matter Expert, Environment and Supply Chain Innovation, Apple, Inc.

Leland Lazarus

Associate Professor, National Security Program, Jack Gordon Institute for Public
Policy, Florida International University

Ke Li

Assistant Professor of Political Science, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York

Andy Liu

Associate Professor of History, Villanova University

Kristen Looney

Associate Professor of Asian Studies and Government, Georgetown University

Ilaria Mazzocco

Senior Fellow, Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Elizabeth Plantan

Assistant Professor of Political Science, Stetson University

Andrew Polk

Co-founder and Head of Economic Research, Trivium China

Eric Schluessel

Associate Professor of History and International Affairs, The George Washington University

Nick R. Smith

Assistant Professor of Architecture and Urban Studies, Barnard College, Columbia University

Tobias Smith

Assistant Professor of Administration of Justice, Ohlone College

Austin Strange

Assistant Professor of Politics and Public Administration, University of Hong Kong

Robert Watts

Captain, U.S. Pacific Fleet

Wei-Ting Yen

Assistant Professor of Government, Franklin and Marshall College

Jack Zhang

Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Kansas

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Established in 2017, the National Committee-Schwarzman Scholars partnership engages Schwarzman Scholars at all stages, helping further prepare them for leadership roles in the U.S.-China relationship. Through the partnership, current Schwarzman Scholars, recent graduates, and alumni have opportunities to learn from and engage with policymakers, policy influencers, and leading China experts in the National Committee’s network.

Current Scholars

Selected current scholars observe closed-door, Track II dialogues among Chinese and American policy influencers and functional experts on important strategic, economic, legal, and other sensitive issues in the bilateral relationship. Scholars also engage with members of Congress and other senior visitors traveling on National Committee delegations to China, giving the scholars access to U.S. policymakers and a platform to share their views on critical global issues. 

Recent Graduates

Each year, one graduating scholar joins the National Committee for a twelve-month fellowship in New York City. The Schwarzman Scholar Fellow gains hands-on experience in the field of U.S.-China relations, exposure to leading China experts and policy influencers, and insight into the inner workings of running a nonprofit. The fellow is an integral member of the National Committee team, helping to develop and implement programs related to policymaking and the education of future leaders. Click here to learn about the 2023-2024 fellow, Bailey Johnson.

Alumni

The National Committee organizes bi-annual seminars for Schwarzman Scholars alumni to refresh them on timely, substantive issues pertaining to China and U.S.-China relations, deepen relationships with fellow alumni, and further expand their professional networks with established figures in the field. The seminars, held in the United States and China, include lectures and discussions with leading academics, policy practitioners, and policy influencers.

About Schwarzman Scholars

Schwarzman Scholars is a fully funded one-year master’s program at Tsinghua University, the visionary creation of Stephen A. Schwarzman, chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Blackstone. The program is designed to give accomplished American, Chinese, and international students the leadership skills and professional networks needed to become global leaders.

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The database is intended to connect journalists, policymakers, educators, and the interested public with China specialists who can provide insight, background, and deeper knowledge about China and U.S.-China relations.  

Our Public Intellectuals Program (PIP), launched by the National Committee in 2005, is dedicated to nurturing the next generation of China specialists. Through unique opportunities such as mentoring, media training, and networking, PIP fellows are better equipped to increase Americans’ understanding of China. 

Fellows are open to requests for media appearances and interviews, speaking engagements, guest lecturers, and similar requests. Contact information for each PIP fellow is available by searching the database. Download the PDF version of this database here. 

Meet the PIP Fellows

Disclaimer: The National Committee does not monitor requests made to PIP fellows through this database.  The views of each PIP fellow are not necessarily the views of the National Committee.

If you are a PIP fellow requesting to change your information in this database, please contact Savannah Billman (sbillman@ncuscr.org).

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YCP events are exclusive to individuals under the age of 45. There is no annual fee for participating in YCP; participants are occasionally asked to pay a participation fee which covers direct costs associated with an event.

For information about future events, please subscribe to YCP email updates. If you have any questions, please reach out to us at ycp@ncuscr.org.

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The U.S. Foreign Policy Colloquium (FPC) is an exclusive four-day program designed to provide 75 of the best and brightest Chinese graduate students studying at colleges and universities from across the United States a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the complex forces that shape American foreign policy and inform the U.S.-China relationship.

FPC gives participants the unique opportunity to interact with key players in the American foreign policy arena, including current and former administration officials and members of Congress, as well as representatives from academia, think tanks, media, business, lobbying groups, and the military, among others. The National Committee uses its deep connections, cultivated over the past 50+ years, to provide participants rare access into some of the capital’s most important foreign policy-making institutions, such as the Department of State and the National Security Council, where they meet with individuals responsible for crafting and influencing policy.

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Each spring, the National Committee selects twelve nationally-recognized American high school graduates to participate in the annual U.S.-China Student Leaders Exchange (SLE). The heart of the program is a two-week study visit to China during the summer between high school and college, during which participants learn about China’s successes and challenges. Home stays with host families also provide exceptional opportunities for participants to meet and exchange ideas with their Chinese counterparts.

The National Committee has run the program since 2004, until it was indefinitely postponed due to the pandemic. Through 2013, the program was open exclusively to U.S. Presidential Scholars, a designation annually conferred upon up to 161 American graduating high school seniors nationwide by the U.S. Department of Education. In 2014, the program was opened to the 40 Regeneron Science Talent Search Finalists (formerly known as Intel STS Finalists), as well. In choosing participants, the Committee gives preference to applicants who have not been to China before and/or who have had only limited exposure to the country.

Exchange to the United States

In 2007, the Student Leaders Exchange also began bringing twelve outstanding Chinese senior high school students to the United States for two weeks. The U.S. visit included many of the same types of activities enjoyed by the students’ American counterparts: homestays, student-student interactions, university and high school visits, traditional sightseeing, etc. The program also included a community service component. The program to the States ran again in 2012 and 2013, but is currently on hiatus

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Each year, YLF holds a four-day retreat to which a select group of exceptional American and Chinese young professionals are invited. Together, participants explore substantive issues, identify commonalities, and develop enduring friendships and partnerships in a casual, intimate environment.

Comprised of influencers and change-makers, the accomplished group of YLF fellows works in a variety of fields. Fellows include government officials and politicians, authors, university leaders, entrepreneurs, and musicians and artists. Attention is given to geographic, gender, and ethnic diversity. An alphabetical listing of all YLF participants since the program’s inception has been posted on the right side of this page.

The forum’s location alternates each year between the United States and China. Each forum is packed with interesting, provocative cross-cultural conversation and activity.

The National Committee, the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs (CPIFA), and the Forum’s U.S. sponsors—led in 2019 by Chubb and Xcoal—cover all lodging, food, and program costs of the YLF retreat for the first two years of our fellows’ participation, allowing them to attend one Forum in the United States and one in China. Participants are asked to pay their own travel expenses to and from the venue, but some full or partial subsidies are available.

The National Committee does not have a formal application process for the Young Leaders Forum, but we do accept materials from individuals who would like to be considered for nomination to our next class. If you are interested in participating in the next Young Leaders Forum and you will not exceed 40 years of age in 2021, you may send a resume, cover letter, and links to other materials you would like us to consider to jlowet@ncuscr.org.

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