Nicolás (Nico) Velasco Pérez is a Class of 2025 Political Economy student from Medellín, Colombia. In November 15-16, 2024, he attended the US-China Hong Kong Forum co-hosted by the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF) in partnership with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE). Nico spoke at the forum’s first-ever “Spotlight on Youth” Keynote where he represented Duke Kunshan University, Colombia, and Latin America. At the forum, Nico added the perspective of youth to critical discussions within US-China relations.
Nico is passionate about accelerating economic development in Colombia and Latin America at the intersection of international relations, public policy, and entrepreneurship. His interest in US-China relations and demonstrated leadership within his fields of interests awarded him the CUSEF x One Young World Scholar, having been selected from 12,991 applicants globally for the inaugural cohort of this scholarship, through which he attended the One Young World Summit in Montreal, Canada and gained mentorship from CUSEF.
Throughout this article, Nico shares his biggest takeaways from his participation in the forum.
What message did you convey throughout your speech and participation?
It was very meaningful for me to have the opportunity to participate at a forum along such influential figures within US-China relations. Being able to interact and learn from many of the world’s most influential figures from a field I am very passionate about means an unprecedented opportunity for me in two very meaningful ways:
First, it allowed me to bring and represent the voice of youth and third-party countries like my home country Colombia in the discussion of US-China relations.
In my speech, I emphasized that having representation from both youth and third-party countries is critical for US-China Relations: on one hand, I think that youth are not only the future of the relation, but also a fundamental part of its present.
On the other hand, I also believe that US-China relations cannot be fully understood if you look at them as a purely bilateral relation. This is because third-party countries are essential stakeholders within that relation. US-China relations have a direct effect on the entire world, and the rest of the world also influence the relationship between these two superpowers in many ways.
Therefore, I stressed that it is critically helpful that both youth and third-party countries are represented in the important dialogues at the forum and beyond within this field.
Second, participating at the forum also helped me gain a sharper and more practical understanding of US-China relations, which I am convinced will be very beneficial for my future career.
I gained insights into the current state of this critical relationship from leaders shaping it in key areas such as commerce, technology, geopolitics, and diplomacy. Hearing directly from these leaders gave me a unique opportunity to grasp the challenges and opportunities within US-China relations in a sharper way than before: my learnings at the forum complemented what I had learned before through the classroom and my personal experience as a student in China and the USA.
The insights I gained triggered me to envision practical steps I can take to engage effectively with US-China Relations as a young professional. For instance, I learned from Boris Tadic —the first president of Serbia— about the importance that people-to-people diplomacy had for President Tadic in building relationship of friendship between Serbia and the US, as well as between Serbia and China.
One of my future professional aspirations is to engage with public service, and one way of doing so is diplomacy. As an aspiring public servant —and even beyond that— I hope to communicate in Colombia that people-to-people diplomacy should be prioritized for enhancing my country’s relationship with the world’s two superpowers in a way that is productive and mutually-beneficial, just as President Tadic did in Serbia.
At the forum, I learned about trade, technology, geopolitics, and many other fields that I am passionate about. More importantly, this opportunity sparked my curiosity for learning: I left the forum with many answers, but even more questions.
What is your biggest takeaway from the forum?
Given the breadth and depth of my learning throughout the two days at the forum, it is difficult to choose only one takeaway. However, if I have to point to a single most important one, it would be that we should be realistic optimists about US-China relations.
At the forum, I gained optimism about the relations between the world’s two biggest superpowers because the discussions expanded my understanding about what is possible when it comes to collaboration between China, USA, and the rest of the world. This opportunity showed me areas of collaboration that I did not consider before such as sports and culture.
For example, I was shocked to learn that ping-pong played a crucial role in normalizing relations between the US and China in the 1970s! At the forum, I learned that a chance encounter that an American player had with a Chinese player in the Chinese team’s bus at Japan’s 1971 World Table Tennis Championships was crucial in triggering the first official visit of an U.S. Delegation to China since 1949.
Following the encounter between the American and Chinese ping-pong players in the world championship, 9 American tennis players visited China and after that, people coined the term “ping-pong” diplomacy. Up to this day, this anecdote is remembered as one that directly paved the way for the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1979.
This anecdote was particularly surprising to me, because it revealed to me that diplomacy —and thus, bilateral cooperation— can go well beyond what I understood before the forum: I learned that cooperation could come from high-level official meetings, but also from unconventional areas like sports!
While I heard messages of concern about the uncertain geopolitical outlook and challenges facing US-China relations, I also witnessed leaders from China, US and other countries bonding over respectful, honest, and engaging conversations.
For example, the first panel —titled “2024 Election: What’s next for the U.S. and China?”— entailed a very thoughtful conversation between leaders including Max Baucus —the 11th American Ambassador to China—, Cui Tankai —former Vice Foreign Minister of China and Ambassador of China to the U.S.—, Nipurama Rao —28th Foreign Secretary of India and former Ambassador of India to the China and the U.S.— and many others. These interactions demonstrated to me that collaboration is possible despite the obstacles ahead.
I describe the perspective I gained as “realistic optimism” because it acknowledges the obstacles ahead while emphasizing the many current opportunities for progress and collaboration within US-China relations. I believe this overarching takeaway perfectly encapsulates the many domain-specific learnings I had at the forum.
How did you find your voice when speaking to the leaders?
I found my voice at the forum by presenting my authentic self: a young and enthusiastic student from Colombia, navigating college between the US and China who has a demonstrated passion for the relationship between these two superpowers.
I feel being on the same speaker’s list as 2 heads of states, several ambassadors and many influential global business, government, and civil society figures was an enormous privilege, though it also brought many nerves. Even more, I was the only young student from DKU and Colombia, and one out of only two speakers born in Latin America.
Because I was among so many influential figures, I realized that the best way to find my voice is to just be myself and to present my honest perspectives: the other leaders presenting had infinitely more experience and technical knowledge than me, so I had to find my voice in something beyond data points or the theories I have learned through my studies.
I found my own vantage point in my background as a young Colombian student passionate about U.S. China Relations. On one hand, I found my voice on my genuine interest to contribute to Colombia by engaging with U.S. China Relations. As I mentioned, I believe third-party countries like Colombia are very consequential for the relationship between the two world’s superpowers, so I brought a fresh perspective to the forum emphasizing this through my speech and by sharing my background.
On the other hand, my voice at the forum also had a lot to be with sharing my enthusiasm. I am a very optimistic person, and I enjoy showing my enthusiasm. While I could not contribute the same level of expertise or experience that the expert participants had, I aimed to use my standing as a passionate young student to complement their expertise. I used my voice to express enthusiasm and a genuine willingness to learn and prepare myself to be a leading contributor to US-China relations from the perspective of Colombia and Latin America. As I was preparing for the forum, I also remembered very vividly the advice I got from CUSEF president James Chau, who has served to me as an incredible mentor through the CUSEF x One Young World Scholars program: before a very important interview I had recently, he encouraged me to let other people see myself for who I am. That piece of advice turned very useful for finding my voice in this forum.
With those elements in mind, I realized that my background as a young Colombian navigating college between both countries was something unique that I could bring to the discussion, so I anchored my voice on my authentic self. While many experts found their strength on their respective fields —like economics, trade, political science or diplomacy— I found mine in my perspective as a young person passionate about US-China relations and who has made concrete steps towards contributing to this relation.
What are you bringing from the forum to your community in the short term?
I left the forum with many immediate next steps that I will pursue in my communities in the very near future:
First, I want to share my experience at the forum with the DKU community, just as we are doing through this article. Sharing my learning from this opportunity on campus is important because I want to inspire other DKU students to pursue opportunities like these.
I believe DKU is at the core of US-China relations as a joint-venture institution between very influential Chinese and US universities. Thus, I believe our perspective as DKU students is needed and beneficial at forums addressing US-China Relations.
Second, on the personal end, the forum encouraged me to broaden my horizons for kickstarting my career. For instance, I realized that I might want to consider think-tanks, foundations, or local government agencies as potential places to work after I graduate from DKU. Thus, my next step will be to think thoroughly about where and how do I want to begin my professional career given what I learned at the forum.
Finally, I want to bring a critical message to my communities back home in Medellín, Colombia, and Latin America: it is essential that us Latin American get to know China and the US better, and also that we seek more representation in US-China relations.
To the first point, I want to invite more Latin Americans to experience both the US and China for themselves. I am now convinced that people-to-people exchange is one of the best ways to foster meaningful relationships between Latin America and the two world’s superpowers.
Relatedly and addressing my second point, I see very few Latin Americans discussing US-China Relations. Therefore, I will find ways to get more talented students and young professionals from Latin America involved with what I believe is the most consequential international relation of the 21st century.
What should leadership mean for the young generation?
I believe leadership should mean many things for the young generation. However, I would say it should particularly mean innovation. I say that because I perceive many young people have a strong unsettlement with the status quo. Consequentially, I believe leadership must mean bringing new ideas that are useful for constructively enhancing our current reality and that productively address the issues we currently face. Similarly, I perceive leadership means a lot of things for the current generation of world leaders.
Useful Links:
