What is the UCBRC?

Founded in May 2020, the US-China Better Relations Coalition (UCBRC) connects students and young professionals from the US, China, and around the world to build relationships between future global leaders. Our diverse group includes members from over 50 universities spanning four countries. We hope that amidst escalating Sino-US tensions, we can connect students and young professionals from diverse cultural backgrounds to help build personal bonds, overcoming geopolitical tensions in the present and leading to better global relations in the future.

We connect students via a community WeChat group for sharing relevant events and articles, a mailing list, and through our organized events. We also have a network of partner organizations. Our events and initiatives include monthly discussions about Chinese and American culture, affairs, and academia; socials where members can network; and the ConnecTA program that facilitates direct communications between local students from China, US, and beyond with weekly group social mixers and organized seminars.

The UCBRC also spotlights student research on American and Chinese domestic and international affairs via the ISSN-registered Intercollegiate US-China Journal, and we bring together student artwork from around the world via our global art exhibitions. Additionally, we create content to share relevant experiences of scholars, professionals, and students via our interviews series and podcast series.

The UCBRC was founded by Jackson Barkstrom, former President of the Brown China Summit, and Yanni Li, former Director of IMUSE (Initiating Mutual Understanding through Student Exchange) and Intern at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy. We are advised by Huang Zhong, Co-Founder of the Sustainable Finance Institute, and Cary Krosinsky, Yale lecturer and author of Modern China.

Become a member of UCBRC here.