| | | | Dear Friends, We are pleased to introduce the 1990 Institute Leadership team unanimously elected at our annual Board meeting on February 26. Learn more about our team on our website. Our new Board Officers’ experience, insight, and commitment will guide us as we continue to empower Asian American youth, support community engagement, and promote thoughtful U.S.-China dialogue. - Chair — Victor Young
- Vice Chair — Caroline Pan
- Corporate Secretary — Fitz De Smet
- Chief Financial Officer — Mitchell Lee
Committee Chairs were also elected: - Development and External Relations Committee — Lisa Ernst and Lin Sun-Hoffman
- Marketing and Communications Committee — Sean Niu
- Program Committee — Lisa Hsu and Aily Zhang
We also welcomed three new Board Directors, adding deep U.S.-China and AAPI advocacy expertise to our Program Committee: - Ker Gibbs — Executive in Residence with the China Business Studies Initiative at the University of San Francisco and partner at Foresight, an advisory firm
- Alan Tien — Life Coach, Angel Investor, and Advisor
- Calvin Yuen — Lead Commercial Counsel at Headspace
The 1990 Institute honored three former Board Chairs who have each served 13 or more years in various leadership roles. These new Emeritus Directors have our deep gratitude for shaping our nonprofit organization with unwavering dedication: - Dan Chao — 1990 Institute Director 2000-2026
- Sandra Pan —1990 Institute Director 2013-2026
- Grace Yu — 1990 Institute Director 2013-2026
We look forward to the leadership and vision all of our board members, staff, and advisors will bring in this next chapter as we enter our 36th year.
SAVE THE DATE! Our full-day 2026 Roots & Wings Youth Symposium will be held on Saturday, September 19, 2026, at the College of San Mateo in the San Francisco Bay Area. Mark your calendars!
SUPPORT THE 1990 INSTITUTE If you would like to make a charitable donation of any amount to support this newsletter and our programming, we would be grateful to continue our work. You can also explore past issues and subscribe to stay connected. Thank you for your continued support. |
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| Congratulations to our dedicated board members who were elected to serve on the 1990 Institute’s Executive Committee on February 26. Visit our Leadership page on our website to learn more about all of our board members. |
| | | JOIN US — ASIAN AMERICAN AUTHORS SERIES — CONNECTIONS IN A DIVIDED WORLD: A FIRESIDE CHAT WITH DANIEL TAM-CLAIBORNE - Wednesday, March 18, 5 pm PT / 8 pm ET, on Zoom. Learn more and register.
- Join the U.S.-China Education Trust (USCET) and the 1990 Institute for a conversation with Asian American authors Daniel Tam-Claiborne and Claire Jia as they reflect on Asian American authorship, transnational identity, and the ways storytelling can illuminate connection amid division.
- 1990 Institute Program Committee Co-Chair Aily Zhang, a geopolitical strategist, will share a few words during the introduction.
- Daniel Tam-Claiborne spent over five years living and working in Greater China. His debut novel “Transplants” was a finalist for the 2023 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction.
- Daniel was a facilitator at our 2025 Youth Symposium breakout session for youth titled “Fuel What Moves You: Turning Dreams into Direction.”
WATCH THE RECORDING — WOMEN IN U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS: GENERATIONAL PERSPECTIVES - On January 30, The Carter Center’s China Focus initiative held a round table titled “Women in U.S.-China Relations: Generational Perspectives” as part of its annual Jimmy Carter Forum on U.S.-China Relations. The round table included multiple generations of experts on U.S.-China relations since normalization.
- The 1990 Institute’s Vice Chair Caroline Pan was a panelist. Caroline has significant international experience, including 13 years based as an expatriate in Shanghai.
- See the recording of the full discussion on 50 years of people-to-people relations.
ENTER OUR COLLEGE ESSAY CONTEST — PRIZES UP TO $1,000 - Our annual College Essay Contest is open to college and university students and recent graduates who are enrolled in the 2025 to 2026 academic year. The contest awards two prizes of $1,000 and four runner-up prizes of $500 each. See the official rules and enter by April 10.
- Choose one topic: (1) “Cooperation amid Strategic Rivalry: How Can the U.S. and China Find Common Ground in Critical Global Issues?” OR (2) “Beyond the Trade War: How Is the U.S.-China Competition Reshaping the Asia-Pacific Regional Order?“
- This contest is presented by the 1990 Institute, the 21st Century China Center at UC San Diego, the Fudan-UC Center on Contemporary China, and The Carter Center.
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|  | Join us for an Asian American Authors virtual event with Daniel Tam-Claiborne on March 18, co-sponsored by the 1990 Institute and U.S.-China Education Trust (USCET). Register here. |
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| U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS & CHINA NEWS Beijing teases prospects for successful Trump-Xi summit | Politico - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi signaled Beijing’s ambition for a successful summit between the leaders of the U.S. and China later this month.
- Beijing appears to be prioritizing the success of the summit over its concerns about U.S. military operations targeting Chinese allies Venezuela and Iran, which have disrupted Chinese supplies of oil and gas from both countries.
China spent years building ties in Latin America. Can Trump make room for the U.S.? | BBC - Donald Trump will host Latin American and Caribbean leaders on March 14 for the "Shield of the Americas Summit," aimed at rallying allies around U.S. national security interests and countering China's growing influence — China is that region's top lender and trading partner.
- Did you know? China is the largest trading nation (followed by the U.S.) and is the top trading partner to more than 120 counties?
The U.S. and China running the world together? China says no thanks | NBC News - For China, President Donald Trump’s use of the term “G2” (Group of Two) is an acknowledgment of its growing power.
Who's laughing now? China’s humanoid robots go from viral stumbles to kung fu flips in one year | CNBC - China’s humanoid robots impressed at the Spring Festival Gala last month and were far more advanced than those shown just one year prior.
Exclusive: Rare earth shortages worsen in U.S. aerospace, chips despite trade truce, sources say | Reuters - Shortages from suppliers to U.S. firms center on rare earths such as yttrium and scandium, niche members of the family of 17 elements, which play tiny but vital roles in defence technology, aerospace, and semiconductors and are almost entirely produced in China.
- Learn more about rare earths in our newsletter essay “China’s edge? Rare earths as bargaining chips in its trade with the U.S.“
ASIAN AMERICAN, NATIVE HAWAIIAN, & PACIFIC ISLANDER (AANHPI) NEWS May 17 could become ‘Bruce Lee Day’ in California | KTLA - AB 24, introduced by Assemblymember Matt Haney (D–San Francisco), would recognize the martial arts icon’s enduring influence on film, culture, and the Chinese American community.
- Learn more about Bruce Lee’s lasting impact in our video on YouTube: “The Master of Influence with Si-Fu Bruce Lee.”
State Lawmakers Step In to Support Minority-Serving Institutions | Inside Higher Education - Since the Education Department axed funding to minority-serving institutions last fall, state policymakers have proposed bills to recognize and sustain such colleges and universities moving forward. California lawmakers are using various paths, including bills that would create a designation for AAPI-serving institutions.
Beyond the Labels: AAPI Women on Abortion Care, Dignity, and Criminalization | National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) - The largest national, multilingual study of its kind presented groundbreaking qualitative and quantitative findings about AAPI women across more than 25 ethnicities — 84% of AAPI women agree that people should be able to make their own abortion decisions without government interference.
On social media, Eileen Gu’s called a traitor. In Chinatown, she’s welcomed as a daughter | San Francisco Standard - In San Francisco's Chinatown, where American and Chinese cultures have coexisted side-by-side for more than a century, blurred lines between these national loyalties are normative.
- Eileen Gu was the 2026 grand marshal of its Chinese New Year Parade. Russell Jeung (San Francisco State University sociologist, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, and 1990 Institute Advisor) said, “There [are] dozens of athletes who are American but represent other countries, and so what’s the big deal about her? It’s because she’s representing China and because she’s so good.”
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| | International Women's Day is every March 8. At the 1990 Institute, we are especially mindful of the Asian American women, community leaders, innovators, and bridge-builders who strengthen our communities and advance cross-cultural understanding. See our International Women’s Day post on Instagram for a list of the trailblazing Asian American women pictured. |
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| | CHINA INSTITUTE — The Young Scholar Chinese Bridge 2026 program is open for registration. - From August 2 to 18, this 17-day immersive language and cultural program is designed for American college students who are exploring future career paths related to China. Graduating high school students are welcomed too.
- Full or partial scholarships are available to eligible students.
- Program features: carefully designed immersive Chinese language curriculum, first-hand experiences of the richness and diversity of Beijing, Inner Mongolia and Hong Kong, and building career connections with renowned U.S.-China focused institutions and companies.
- Sign up for an Information Session on Zoom on March 18, 12 pm PT / 3 pm ET.
- Contact summerprogram@chinainstitute.org for more information.
THE CARTER CENTER — China Pulse is a twice-annual survey research project measuring Chinese public opinion on international relations conducted by The Carter Center and Emory University. Key findings released on March 9 include: - Chinese public sentiment toward the U.S. remained relatively low throughout the latter half of 2025.
- Most of the Chinese public views the U.S. as a national security threat.
- The most important threats the U.S. poses to China’s national security in the eyes of the Chinese public are related to Taiwan (83%) and international economics and trade (80%).
- Despite negative sentiment toward the U.S., most Chinese believe the U.S.s and China have common interests in international economics and trade (75%), global security (71%), technological innovation (68%), and public health (53%).
- Visit The Carter Center’s U.S.-China Perception Monitor online publication for charts and summaries and to download the entire report: Threat and Opportunity: Chinese Public Views on the United States.
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| | Dim Sum - A Little Bit of Heart |
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| | | | 1990 Institute
P.O. Box 383 | San Francisco, California 94104
contact@1990institute.org www.1990institute.org Copyright 2026 The 1990 Institute. All rights reserved. |
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