OUR CAMPAIGNS

Forging a Progressive Future for US-China Relations

No matter the color of our skin, where we come from, or where we call home, most of us want the same thing: a better world where economic security and opportunity are shared fairly.

But certain politicians and their billionaire backers keep us divided and distracted by stoking fear of people in other countries like China, while letting corporations hunt for cheap labor, weak environmental rules, and suppressed wages worldwide. This global “race to the bottom” has only deepened exploitation and inequality everywhere.

The moment we’re in…

A Washington Consensus

It has become a routine for politicians to portray China as an existential threat and then claim that only militarist and confrontational measures would weaken China’s position. Yet such approaches are unlikely to succeed; instead, they tend to empower nationalist, militarist, and authoritarian forces in both countries. In the US, this dynamic is already visible in the rise of anti-Asian racism and the racial profiling associated with the Justice Department’s now-defunct “China Initiative”. Moreover, these confrontational measures divert resources and attention away from the urgent global challenges we must confront together.

To be clear, the Chinese government has a deeply troubling record: from the mass detention of Uyghur and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, to the dismantling of a vibrant civil society in Hong Kong, to the crackdown on domestic dissent. But isolating and escalating conflict with China won’t resolve these issues. On the contrary, such strategies often backfire: repression of domestic dissent tends to intensify as authorities move to shore up “national security” in the face of perceived geopolitical threats. They also lend legitimacy to the Chinese leadership’s nationalist narrative that human rights and democracy are “Western values” wielded by the US to weaken China.

ANOTHER PATH IS POSSIBLE

ANOTHER PATH IS POSSIBLE

Peaceful coexistence between the US and China would not only prevent great power violence, but could also help unlock progress on the global challenges we all share: enhancing human rights, raising labor standards, supporting the Global South, and taking bold action to address the climate crisis.

We’re organizing to build political power behind this vision, knowing that ordinary people are ready for a new approach.

Grassroots Organizing

We cultivate grassroots leadership among communities most affected by the US-China rivalry — those that act from lived experiences and reject false binary choices.

Our work within impacted diaspora and academic communities has yielded meaningful results, providing a foundation for our broader strategy to align the progressive movement.

  • As tensions between the United States and China intensify, higher education has become one of the most visible battlegrounds in the new Cold War. What began as scientific exchange and global collaboration has been steadily replaced by surveillance, suspicion, and exclusion.

    From the now-defunct “China Initiative”, which racially profiled and prosecuted hundreds of scholars under the false pretext of fighting espionage, to ongoing visa denials and restrictions targeting Chinese students and researchers, these policies have institutionalized xenophobia across academia.

    This wave of anti-Chinese and anti-Asian repression does nothing to address the real economic and social crises driving insecurity. Instead, it diverts attention from the growing fusion of oligarchy and the national security state, empowering policymakers and university administrators to police research, stifle collaboration, and treat people as national security threats.

    We believe defending international scholars is inseparable from defending academic freedom, worker dignity, and true democracy on campus. That’s why we’re organizing with impacted and allied academics nationwide to reject securitization and build solidarity with Chinese students and scholars.

    Together, we are:

    • Organizing across campuses – Mobilizing academic workers and unions to oppose racial profiling, resist congressional targeting of Chinese and international scholars, and demand university administrations protect, not police, their communities.

    • Raising public awareness – Exposing how corporate interests and geopolitical fearmongering threaten higher education through public events, teach-ins, and national media coverage such as features in Truthout and The Intercept.

    • Building alliances – Partnering with civil rights organizations, labor unions, and AAPI grassroots groups to create lasting protections for scholars under attack and to link this struggle with broader movements for racial and economic justice.

    Our vision is a university system grounded not in fear or securitization, but in solidarity, openness, and shared liberation.

Narrative Work

We develop strategies that counter the false narrative pitting American people against Chinese people, and instead build solidarity among working people everywhere who share the same struggles.

Movement Alignment

We organize a cross-sector progressive coalition around the positive vision for US-China relations, understanding that progressives are oftentimes caught flat-footed on issues involving China.