Yale students participate in latest AI dialogue with Chinese scholars, peers, and tech entrepreneurs

Over the recent spring break, a Yale delegation of students, faculty, and practitioners engaged in a week-long intensive program with counterparts in Beijing, Suzhou, and Hangzhou, China on topics ranging from the future of Sino-American relations to the implications of cutting-edge advances in AI and robotics technologies. Students in the year-long signature course offered by the Schmidt Program on Artificial Intelligence, Emerging Technologies, and National Power, combined with political science professor Daniel Mattingly’s Chinese Foreign Policy class, participated along with student and faculty peers at Renmin University of China.

The fourth iteration of the Yale-Renmin Student Dialogue on AI, Emerging Technology, and U.S.-China Relations took place on both the Beijing and Suzhou campuses of Renmin University. It also included a day trip to Hangzhou for meetings with some of China’s most innovative AI startups and robotics companies.

The Yale group was comprised of both graduate and undergraduate students representing the Jackson School, the Yale School of Management, the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and Yale College. Led by Schmidt Program director Ted Wittenstein and political science professor Daniel Mattingly, delegation leaders also included Arne Westad, Elihu Professor of History and Global Affairs; Jackson Senior Fellow Hanscom Smith; and Marine Corps Fellow Timothy Riemann. The trip was made possible through support from the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies and Yale Center Beijing.

“At a moment when so many channels of communication between the United States and China are closed, this was a rare opportunity for dialogue,” said Mattingly. “The Yale College and graduate students prepared rigorously, and the warm welcome from the Renmin students and faculty made real exchange possible. What gives me the most hope is that these aren’t abstract diplomatic exercises, they’re the beginning of relationships that will serve the U.S-China relationship for decades to come.”

“Our annual dialogue with Renmin University is among the few existing and ongoing avenues for peer-to-peer exchange between the United States and China. It reflects Yale’s deep historical engagement with China and our commitment to grappling with the serious risks posed by AI in a constructive manner,” said Wittenstein. “Amidst a time of intense geopolitical competition and unprecedented bilateral tensions, it is more important than ever before to foster mutual understanding in hopes avoiding miscalculation or inadvertent conflict. This year’s dialogue brought to the forefront some of the thorniest questions on emerging technologies that are shaping the global landscape. I was greatly inspired by the preparation of our Yale Jackson students in our Schmidt Program, and their commitment to dialogue with Renmin University peers.”

Over the course of several days, Yale and Renmin faculty moderated small-group student discussions on strategic challenges in the U.S.-China relations. Participants debated issues ranging from AI governance, to shared AI risks, to regional security hotspots. Yale students prepared background research papers and drafted oral remarks in advance of engaging their Renmin peers, shaping the conversation and grounding the dialogue in rigorous preparation and research.

“There is nothing like peer-to-peer engagement,” said Smith, a former career diplomat and U.S. consul general in Shanghai and Hong Kong. “It is invaluable for students to gain an understanding of different perspectives, have experiences on the ground, and grapple with complex geopolitical issues first-hand. This type of policy dialogue gives Yale students the skills they need to succeed as future policy and business leaders.”

The Yale students also participated in panel discussions at the Yale Center Beijing, met with senior U.S. Embassy officials in Beijing, and visited the Forbidden City and Summer Palace. Later in the week, students traveled to the Suzhou campus of Renmin University, toured leading robotics companies in Hangzhou, and discussed U.S.-China economic relations with the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.

Jackson MPP student Dan Kent participated in the dialogue as a group lead for the second year in a row after taking the Schmidt Program’s year-long course in his first year at Yale. “In the last year, the potential for inadvertent conflict in Sino-American relations, the prevalence of shared AI risks, and the vulnerabilities in the tech supply chain have only grown in importance,” he said. “It is essential to keep these avenues of communication and understanding open however we can. It was fascinating and enlightening to listen and learn from our Chinese colleagues.”

The first iteration of the dialogue took place over Zoom in April 2023. The second took place in Beijing in 2024, and the third iteration took place in New Haven in 2025.