The Pac-12 Conference, Chinese Scholarship Council, and Federation University Sports China (FUSC), Beijing’s official organization for collegiate athletics, launched a “coaching education alliance” in September. Coaches at Arizona State University (ASU) and the University of Utah (the U) will provide three months of training to 200 Chinese coaches on techniques for a range of sports, including basketball, track & field, swimming, and cheerleading. This partnership is the latest effort by Pac-12 Global to facilitate US-China educational and athletic exchange. The partnership is also an accomplishment for sports diplomacy, which was a component of the US-China People-to-People Exchange program, established at the seventh annual US-China Consultation on People-to-People Exchange in June 2016.
The Pac-12 Conference has promoted ties between its American teams and counterparts in China since it initiated Pac-12 Global in 2011. Last November, the University of Washington Huskies and University of Texas Longhorns played a men’s basketball game in Shanghai, China. That inaugural “Pac-12 China Game” was the first time any American college sports teams had ever hosted a regular season game in China. This November, the Stanford and Harvard men’s basketball teams will likewise start their seasons in Shanghai at a second “Pac-12 China Game.”
An overarching goal of the coaching alliance is to strengthen all forms of exchange between the American universities and their Chinese counterparts. ASU has ties with institutions in China like Sichuan University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Ministry of Science and Technology. In 2013, at least 33 institutions in China participated in ASU’s dual American and Chinese degree program. Meanwhile, about 1,800 Chinese students attend the U, comprising 40% of the school’s international student population. Administrators hope that this coaching program will not only heighten China’s interest in Utah, but also in all Pac-12 schools. In addition, chemical engineers at the U recently began joint research with North Dakota and two Chinese institutions, Huazhong University of Science and Technology and Southeastern University, on clean energy.
Kim Meihua Roy is a Research Intern at the East-West Center in Washington and a student at Brigham Young University.
Chien-Chou “Antonio” Liao is a Research Intern at the East-West Center in Washington and a recent graduate from American University School of International Service.
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自今年9月，美国体育大会PAC-12、中国国家留学基金委、与中国大学生体育协会发起了“教练教育联盟”。来自亚利桑那州立大学和犹他大学的教练将会向大约两百位中国队总教练提供为期三个月的训练，此训练涉及到许多运动的相关知识，如篮球、田径、游泳、和啦啦队。这次的合作意味着PAC-12全球计划将成为美中教育和体育交流最新的进展。再者，该体育教育交流象征体育外交的成就，此交流为2016年六月第七届美中人文交流高层磋商会议一部分。
PAC-12大会于2011年创建一项致力于推动美中运动队之间关系的全球计划。例如，去年11月，华盛顿大学和德克萨斯大学的男子篮球队去上海比赛。该场“PAC-12中国比赛”代表美国大学运动队首次于中国进行例行赛。同样，今年11月斯坦福和哈佛男子篮球队将在上海举行第二次PAC-12中国开季赛。
体育教育联盟的宗旨为加强美中大学各种形式的交流。例如，美国亚利桑那州立大学与中国四川大学、中国科学院、及中国科学技术部拥有合作关系。2013年，至少有三十三所中国大学参与了亚利桑那州立大学的美中双学位项目。与此同时，约一千八百位中国学生进入犹他大学就读，在该所大学四成的外国留学生为中国人。犹他大学校方希望教练培训计划可以提升中国人对其大学及所有PAC-12成员学校的兴趣。此外，犹他大学和北达科他大学最近与中国华中科技大学和东南大学就清洁能源进行了联合研究。
饶美华是东西方华盛顿中心的研究实习生和杨百翰大学学生。
廖建州是东西方华盛顿中心研究实习及美利坚大学国际事务学院毕业。