When Perception is Power: Countering China’s Courtship of Sub-Saharan Africa in the Trump Era
Announcing Essay Contest Winners
The China Focus of The Carter Center, in cooperation with the China Focus of University of California at San Diego and the 1990 Institute, organized an essay contest in honoring of President Jimmy Carter. The selection committee has just announced the winners of the contest.
The six winners are as follow:
The Jimmy Carter Prize
Elizabeth Nemitz – $1,000
Institution: University of Minnesota
Essay Title: “When Perception is Power: Countering China’s Courtship of Sub-Saharan Africa in the Trump Era” [click HERE to access the essay; click HERE to access the Chinese translation of the essay]
The Jimmy Carter Prize – Runner-Ups
Xudong Zhu – $500
Institution: University of Aberdeen
Essay Title: “Trump As the (In)advertent Harbinger of a New Transatlantic Security Architecture: Europe’s Autonomy as a Bulwark Against Chinese Influence” [click HERE to access the essay]
Xiangkun Huang & Ng Ying Fang – $500
Institution: The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Essay Title: “胡萝卜与大棒之间：美国如何回应中国在东盟的步步为营” [click HERE to access the essay]
The 1990 Institute Prize
Pablo Dufour – $1,000
Institution: The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
Essay Title: “Robotic Might, Aerospace Fright: China’s Uneven March to Tech Sovereignty”
The 1990 Institute Prize – Runner-Ups
Parvathy Sailesh & Chenling Wan – $500
Institution: National University of Singapore
Essay Title: “On Drones and Dreamliners: Analysing Dissimilar Outcomes of Made in China
2025 through a Comparison of UAV and Passenger Aircraft Industries”
Abraham Wu – $500
Institution: University of California, San Diego
Essay Title: “Mexico in the Middle: Trump 2.0’s Front Line in the U.S.–China Contest”
We extend our heartfelt thanks to the staff members of the 21st Century China Center, the 1990 Institute, and the Carter Center for their continued support and guidance throughout this process. We are also grateful to everyone who contributed to the contest’s success—from brainstorming essay topics to promoting the call for submissions and helping with final evaluations.
The winning essays were selected by a panel of experts from the Carter Center, the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy, and the China Focus editorial team.
Generously supported by the 1990 Institute and the Carter Center, the 2025 China Focus Essay Contest highlights emerging voices exploring timely issues related to China and its role in the world. The selected essays will be published on the China Focus blog over the coming months.
