our 2021 theme: DEVELOPMENT THROUGH COLLABORATION

The FACES Annual Summit brings together forty extraordinary students from across the world. Respectively in autumn and spring, this cohort spends a week at Stanford and a week at Beijing’s Peking University to learn about and discuss the most pressing issues in U.S.-China relations.

Lean forward. The annual summit features lectures from leaders in U.S.-China relations; small-group discussions between and career advice from students, alumni, and experts; and crisis simulations to replicate the fast-paced nature of international exchange. Previous summit themes have included the history of Sino-American affairs, economic exchanges and development, healthcare, national security, and educational and cultural exchanges. This year, our summit will prioritize avenues of collaboration and cooperation. How can the U.S. and China move forward together?

“In a time when the United States and China seem destined to remain on a collision course, FACES restores hope that our future leaders will be able to find ways to cultivate a healthy relationship between the two powers. The work products the teams submitted were not only creative and forward-thinking, but they reflected mutual respect and understanding among the team members from both countries. The need for the FACES Summit is more critical today than ever before.” —Chris Harnisch, 2020 Crisis Simulation Judge, former NSC and State Department official

Talk back. Past speakers have included President George H. W. Bush, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, U.S. Secretary of Defense William Perry, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, and U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul.

Learn more about our speakers.

FACES, true to its mission, has forged lasting relationships amongst the next generation of U.S.-China leaders, who will come to shape global relations between the two countries – in areas varying from politics, to technology, and business.

-- Jean Oi, Founding Director, Stanford China Program

This organization is playing an important role in promoting mutual understanding between the two countries’ youth.

— Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State

The connections really do last, and they really do matter.

— James Dee, FACES '07

Make an impact. FACES delegates and alumni have already begun to shape U.S.-China relations. During their time at Stanford, delegates form teams to design original research projects to address the most pressing issues in U.S.-China relations. After pitching their project to a committee of experts, they will spend three months implementing their research or social venture projects before presenting their results to their peers and media at the Beijing session. Past collaborative projects have included a video documentary exploring water pollution in rural China and an NGO founded to equip students with skills to succeed in multinational careers.

Join the community. More than 850 former delegates and members of our executive team continuing to meet, live and work together across the world. FACES delegates reside and work in Shanghai, New York, Beijing, San Francisco, and elsewhere, before returning to meet and advise the current cohort of delegates.

Learn more about our alumni.

Applications for the FACES 2023 Annual Summit are now open! Applicants will be evaluated on their openness to adopting new ideas, leadership skills, and ability to apply their takeaways from the summit to U.S.-China relations.