| People-to-people exchange is one of the three pillars to promote the development of China-U.S.relations.With the intensification of strategic competition between China and the United States after Donald Trump took office,people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States have been impacted.From 2017 to2022,the United States has carried out securitization operations on China-U.S.people-to-people exchanges.American think tanks,Congress,executive departments and other securitization actors construct China-U.S.people-to-people exchange as an existential threat to the national security of the United States.In the discourse dimension,it is manifested in exaggerating “sharp power” “influence activities”“whole-of-government measures” and other security discourses by means of think tank reports,hearings,and public statements.In the practical dimension,it is manifested in the congressional legislations that put the countermeasures for China-U.S.people-to-people exchanges under the framework of the national defense and security.The executive branch cooperates with security discourse,implements the national security Act,then vigorously promotes restrictive measures against China-U.S.people-to-people exchanges.The reasons for the securitization of people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States lie in the changing perception of China in the United States against the background of strategic competition,the intensification of ideological disputes between China and the United States,and the need for the United States to construct external threats to reshape its national identity.At the critical moment when China-U.S.relations are dominated by competition,people-to-people exchanges should play an even more important role as a “backing point”.China should highlight the cultural attributes of China-U.S.people-to-people exchanges by deconstructing security discourse,strengthen top-level communication and rebuild strategic mutual trust in China-U.S.people-to-people exchanges and focus on audience differences,building a public opinion foundation for China-US people-to-people exchanges,then strive to promote the “de-securitization”process of China-U.S.people-to-people exchanges. |
