Richard C. Atkinson, Recollections of the First U.S.-China Student Exchange, December 14, 2006

Recollections of events leading to the first exchange of students, scholars and scientists between the United States and the People’s Republic of China

Richard C. Atkinson, President Emeritus, University of California

I recently returned from a trip to China where I participated in the U.S.-China Forum on Science & Technology Policy in Beijing (October 16-17, 2006) and then went on to Nanjing to consult with Li Yuanchao (Secretary of the Communist Party of China Jiangsu Provincial Committee) and Wang Bintai (Director General of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education) regarding plans for higher education in Jiangsu Province. During the trip I was frequently reminded of my first visit to China in 1978 as director of the National Science Foundation (NSF). I have written about my experiences at NSF in The Golden Fleece, Science Education, and U.S. Science Policy (published in the Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 143, No. 3, September 1999) but realize now that I devoted only a few sentences to the China experience. I will use this memorandum to describe those events.

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