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College Essay Contest

The 1990 Institute believes that discovery through education paves the way for Americans to understand more about China, as well as for Chinese to understand more about the United States – thereby fostering a more thoughtful and rational view of the relations between the two countries. The 1990 Institute encourages university students to develop a more nuanced understanding of contemporary China and the implications of its rise as a superpower through an annual College Essay Contest.

Announcing 2025 Essay Contest

The contest is organized by China Focus, an online publication at UC San Diego and jointly hosted by the 1990 Institute, the Fudan-UC Center on Contemporary China, The Carter Center, and the 21st Century China Center at UC San Diego's School of Global Policy and Strategy.

 

You may submit your essay in either Chinese or English. The contest offers two topics and awards two prizes of $1,000 and four runner-up prizes of $ 500 each.

 

Award winners will grant China Focus and co-sponsors the right to publish their essays on their respective platforms or in their publications. Winners may then be contacted with additional award opportunities to transform their essays into teaching materials and also to discuss their work with a panel of experts during the summer.

2025 Essay Topics (Choose Only 1)

Essay Topic 1

The dynamics of US-China relations are set to undergo significant changes under the new Trump administration. As the US redefines its foreign policy, China is expected to continue to assert its power on the global stage, especially in the global South. Write an essay that, backed by well-chosen evidence and detailed analysis, explains how the new US administration may respond to China’s growing influence in country or region X (select one country or region you want to investigate) and why?

Value:
This topic follows current affairs. It will allow candidates to explore the challenges and opportunities in the US-China relationship and evaluate how the new US administration can either support or hinder China's global repositioning

 

中国焦点论文竞赛题目 — 中美关系

题目 1:
在特朗普新政府的领导下,中美关系的动态预计将发生重大变化。随着美国重新定义其外交政策,中国预计将继续在全球舞台上,尤其是在全球南方,展现其影响力。请撰写一篇论文,通过精心挑选的证据和详细的分析,探讨美国新政府可能如何应对中国在X国或X地区(选择一个国家或地区进行研究)日益增长的影响力,以及背后的原因。

题目价值:
该话题关注当前国际事务,使参赛者能够深入探讨中美关系中的挑战与机遇,并评估美国新政府如何支持或阻碍中国的全球重新定位。

Essay Topic 2

“Made in China 2025” was an ambitious initiative launched by China to transform its manufacturing sector into a global leader in advanced technology and innovation. Its plan was to focus on improving industries such as robotics, aerospace, information technology, and green technologies, aiming to reduce dependence on foreign technology and foster homegrown technological advancements. Now is the year 2025. Has China achieved what it set out to do in its plan "Made in China 2025"? Pick one or two areas mentioned in the plan and evaluate where China has succeeded, and where China has fallen short of its original plan. What are the implications for China’s technological future? Competitive essays will utilize well-chosen evidence and detailed analysis.

Value:
This topic will allow candidates to evaluate the extent to which China has succeeded in its goals in 2025, analyze the implications of “Made in China 2025” for China’s technological future, and examine the potential impact of relevant industrial policies on global supply chains, innovation, and competition, particularly in the context of geopolitical tensions.

 

中国焦点论文竞赛题目 — 技术与产业政策

题目2:
“中国制造2025”是中国推出的一项雄心勃勃的计划,旨在将其制造业转型为全球先进技术和创新的领导者。该计划重点发展机器人、航空航天、信息技术和绿色技术等行业,目标是减少对外国技术的依赖,并推动本土技术的进步。

如今已是2025年,中国是否实现了“中国制造2025”所设定的目标?请选择该计划中的一个或两个领域,评估中国在哪些方面取得了成功,在哪些方面未能达到最初的预期,并分析其对中国技术未来的影响。优秀的论文将通过精心挑选的证据和详细的分析来展开论述。

题目价值:
本题目将使参赛者评估中国在2025年实现目标的程度,分析“中国制造2025”对中国技术未来的影响,并探讨相关产业政策对全球供应链、创新和竞争格局的潜在影响,特别是在地缘政治紧张局势的背景下。

Contest Requirements

The contest is open to undergraduate, graduate students, and recent graduates. Each entry must be the original work of students enrolled during the 2024-25 academic year, as well as those who graduated before or in May 2024. We especially welcome submissions by students from U.S. and Chinese universities. Collaborative projects are encouraged, but prize money must be split among collaborators. Entries can be in either English or Chinese.

Essays should be written in op-ed style, with references provided as appropriate but no need for detailed footnotes, with a length of up to 2,500 words in English and 3,000 in Chinese.

Each entry will be reviewed by a panel of judges drawn from the China Focus board of advisers, experts in U.S.-China relations, and others with relevant expertise.

Contest Prizes

Two equal $1,000 prizes for contest winners, the 1990 Institute Prize and the Jimmy Carter Prize, will be awarded. Four runner-up essays will also be selected to win $500 each.

Winners will be selected on quality without regard to the question addressed in the essay. Essay winners may then be contacted with additional award opportunities entailing transforming their essays into teaching materials and/or discussing their essay themes with experts on a panel event during the summer.

Contest Deadline

May 1st, 2025, 11:59 PM PST

Contestants who have already submitted are free to send in any revisions before the new extended deadline.

How To Enter

Send your submission to us by email (chinafocus@ucsd.edu) with the subject heading:

CF Contest2025-LastName

Send from your official university email address.

Send your essay attached as a PDF.

Please include a cover page with the following information:

  • Submission title

  • Author name(s)

  • Profile picture

  • Affiliated school

  • Degree just completed or being pursued in the current school year

  • Nationality

  • 3-4 sentences bio

  • An alternative (permanent) email address (different from the school email address)

  • Where did you hear about the essay contest?

Questions? Email chinafocus@ucsd.edu

Previous Winning Essays

​​2024 Essay Contest Topics

Topic 1 - China has positioned itself as a potential mediator in conflicts like the Russo-Ukrainian War and the conflicts in the Middle-East. How would you define China’s track record in its mediation? ​

Topic 2 - The U.S. and China have had an ongoing exchange of students and migrants for years as a product of increasingly globalized education and labor markets. How does the flow of U.S.-Chinese populations influence U.S.-China relations? To what extent can these population flows and ensuing people-to-people ties help to stabilize the relationship?​​

2024 1990 Institute Prize Winner

重建中美人文交流:一个亲历者的思考

(As submitted in Chinese)

Rebuilding Sino-U.S. People-to-people Exchanges: Personal Reflections (Translated)

By 

Lin Jiawen (林佳文)

Beijing Foreign Studies University

Lin Jiawen has completed her first year of her master’s program at School of International Relations and Diplomacy, Beijing Foreign Studies University. She is studying western political institutions with a focus on American society and party politics. She also has a bachelor background of Bulgarian philology, and has kept her research interest in area study on Central and Eastern European countries. Her rich overseas people-to-people exchange experience and internship in The Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries helped make her future career plan. She is ambitious to contribute to deepening the friendship between China and other countries.

2024 1990 Institute Runner Up Prize Essay
 

Kingdom In the Middle: China as an International Mediator

By Payton Morlock

University of California, San Diego

Payton Morlock is a second-year Master of Chinese Economic and Political Affairs student at University of California San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy. His focus is on the Chinese Economy, with previous experience interning at Institute for National Policy Research in Taipei, Taiwan, and being a current Policy Analyst Intern for the International Organization for Migration Rwanda Mission.

2024 1990 Institute Runner Up Prize Essay
 

The Future of the U.S.-China Educational Exchanges

 

By Mustapha Dukuly

Columbia University

Mustapha Dukuly is a second-year Master of Public Administration candidate at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), concentrating in International Finance and Economic Policy with a specialization in International Organization and U.N. Studies. He graduated summa cum laude from Worcester State University with a bachelor's degree in Economics and Liberal Studies, winning the 2021 Robert K. O'Brien Next Big Idea Contest. At SIPA, Mustapha's research spans U.S.-China educational exchange, U.S.-Africa relations in education, international institutions, and sustainable development. He has a particular interest in Liberian-American diplomatic relations, including visa reciprocity. Mustapha's work aims to shape a more collaborative future in the global arena.

2023 College Essay Contest

In 2023, the Carter Center join the 1990 Institute and the 21th Century China Center at University of California San Diego sponsoring the essay contest. The 2023 China Focus Essay Contest, a prestigious competition that invites talented individuals to showcase their insights on U.S.-China dynamics, received a record number of submissions this year from brilliant minds around the world. Awards made as part of the essay content include the 1990 Institute Prize, the Jimmy Carter Prize, and two runner-ups.

The exceptional quality of the essays exceeded all expectations, making the selection process a challenging endeavor for the esteemed panel of judges. Submissions were diligently evaluated by a group of experts representing renowned organizations, including the 1990 Institute, the Carter Center, the 21st Century China Center at the University of California San Diego, the Fudan-UC Center, and China Focus.

Read the 1990 Institute prize winning essay Politics Out the Way! Towards a Deeper U.S.-China Green Cooperation” by Katerina Yang and Ann-Alice Tichá.

2022 Contest Winners

Essay Topic 1

Both China and the U.S. face the challenge of large tech companies wielding huge influence in their respective economies and societies. How to regulate them without stifling growth or innovation is a key consideration for policymakers. Such regulations are also fraught with political and technological implications for both countries.

Write an essay that analyzes recent regulatory activities directed against large tech companies in both countries and considers their political, economic, or technological consequences. If appropriate, outline what principles should undergird a sensible regulatory framework that will promote innovation while protecting consumers.

Winning Essay

Innovation in Regulation: A Path Forward for U.S. Tech Competition with China

 

by William Yuen Yee

William Yuen Yee graduated from Columbia University with a double major in Political Science and East Asian Studies. His writing on China’s foreign relations and international trade has been published in the Center for Strategic and International Studies, The Diplomat, the Jamestown Foundation, and SupChina. This fall, he will pursue a master’s in International Governance and Diplomacy at the Paris School of International Affairs as the 2022 Michel David-Weill Scholarship laureate. Upon return to the U.S., William will matriculate at Harvard Law School.

Essay Topic 2

Both China and the United States face the problem of disinformation to some degree. How does the scale and content of disinformation reflect political and societal conflicts in both countries? Have both countries responded effectively to counter disinformation?  Why or why not? In discussing these questions, be sure to define disinformation in both national contexts clearly.  

Winning Essay

Information and Disinformation in the 21st Century

by Natasha Lock 洛夏

Yenching Academy of Peking University 

Natasha Lock holds a degree in History, International Relations and Mandarin Chinese from the University of Exeter. As a Yenching Scholar at Peking University, her work focused on the Party’s use of historical narratives and modern Chinese nationalism. She was awarded Peking University’s prestigious ‘International Graduate of the Year’ award in 2020. Natasha currently resides in Taipei, where she is conducting field research alongside working in political consultancy. This year, she will join the Lau China Institute of King’s College London to pursue her doctoral studies in Chinese Research.

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