Exchange Database

November 16, 2011
A delegation of outstanding American cultural figures traveled to Beijing to take part in four days of unprecedented cultural exchange. The US-China Forum on the Arts and Culture organized performances, master classes and roundtables that showcased the best of American culture, while forging new opportunities for American artists to collaborate and converse with their Chinese peers, in fields including visual and performing arts, literature, and cuisine.
June 25, 2014
"China: Tradition and the Art of Living" highlighted REUNION and BALANCE, traditional principles that are of greater value than ever in China. The China program took visitors beyond the news headlines and ubiquitous mass-produced goods to highlight creativity, heritage, and masterful skill. There were more than one hundred artists and culture bearers featured in the program. Drawing from the past, but facing the future with energy and creativity, they are keeping traditions vital and relevant today.
July 10, 2013
The U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue was established by President Obama and Chinese President Hu in April 2009 and represents the highest-level bilateral forum to discuss a broad range of issues between the two nations. The fifth round of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue was held in Washington, D.C., July 10-11, 2013. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew and Secretary of State John F. Kerry were joined for the Dialogue by Chinese co-chairs, Vice Premier Wang Yang and State Councilor Yang Jiechi, along with members of the Chinese delegation and their U.S. colleagues.
July 9, 2014
State Councilor Yang Jiechi, special representative of President Xi Jinping, and Secretary of State John Kerry, special representative of President Barack Obama, chaired the Strategic Track, which included participation from senior officials from across both governments.
November 5, 2014
Public screening of Children’s Village (2012) by Zou Xueping, part of Caochangdi’s Folk Memory Project on China’s Great Famine (1959-1961), followed by discussion with Wu Wenguang and the Caochangdi artists.
February 22, 1784
A ship called the Empress of China became the first vessel to sail from the United States to China, arriving in Guangzhou (Canton) in August. The vessel’s supercargo, Samuel Shaw, had been appointed as an unofficial consul by the U.S. Congress, but he did not make contact with Chinese officials or gain diplomatic recognition for the United States.
August 9, 1785
Three Chinese sailors arrived in Baltimore, where they were stranded on shore by the trading ship that brought them there from Guangzhou.
January 1, 1821
A Chinese woman selling items to an American ship was killed when a sailor on the American vessel threw a pitcher overboard that struck her, knocking her out of her small boat into the water, where she drowned. Local authorities demanded that the guilty party be surrendered for trial and punishment, but at first the ship’s captain and other merchants refused to comply.
February 1, 1830
The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, one of the earliest missionary organizations of the United States, sent the first two American missionaries to China, the Reverends Elijah Bridgman and David Abeel. They reached Guangzhou in February of 1830.
November 4, 1835
In 1834, Dr. Peter Parker arrived at Guangzhou as America’s pioneer medical missionary. After spending some time in Singapore studying language, he returned to Guangzhou and on November 4, 1835, established a small dispensary in the foreign quarter.

Contribute to Database

Please tell us about U.S.-China exchanges that are not yet included in the database.

Commission Report

Polls show Americans and Chinese are becoming less trustful of each other’s country. The Commission assesses the problem and offers recommendations to foster greater U.S.-China collaboration and understanding.

Sign up for our mailing list