The China Focus editorial team is thrilled to announce the winners of the 2026 China Focus Essay Contest!
Generously supported by the 1990 Institute, The Carter Center, Fudan-UC Center, and the 21CCC, the China Focus Essay Contest highlights emerging voices exploring timely issues related to China and its role in the world. This year, entrants were asked to discuss either how the United States and China can find common ground on critical global issues or how U.S.-China competition is reshaping the Asia-Pacific region. The winning essays were selected by a panel of experts from The Carter Center, the 1990 Institute, the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy faculty, and the China Focus editorial team.
The selected essays will be published by China Focus, The Carter Center, and the 1990 Institute in their respective publications in the coming weeks. Be sure to check back in to read the installments.
Congratulations to this year’s winners:
The 1990 Institute Prize
Quinn Ennis — $1,000
Institution: Yale University
Essay Title: The Governance Vacuum Beneath the Lithium Triangle
The Jimmy Carter Prize
Patrick Luczak & Abraham Wu — $1,000
Institution: UC San Diego, School of Global Policy and Strategy
Essay Title: Narrow but Not Peripheral: Submarine Cables as a Domain for U.S.-China Guardrails
The 1990 Institute Prize — Runner-Ups
Yaqi Li — $500
Institution: S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Essay Title: The Infrastructure That Didn’t Break: AI Governance Research as the Proving Ground for US-China Cooperation
Hanyue Zhang — $500
Institution: Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University
Essay Title: The Alliance Tax: How U.S. Tech Sanctions Are Forcing Asia-Pacific Partners to Choose Sides Before They Are Ready
The Jimmy Carter Prize — Runner-Ups
Charlie Andrade — $500
Institution: University of Kansas
Essay Title: The Window Before the Workarounds: Why U.S.-China AI Cooperation Can Succeed Where Trade Could Not
Nan Hao — $500
Institution: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Essay Title: Beyond the Trade War: U.S.-China Competition and Triple Multilateralism in the Asia-Pacific
Honorable Mentions
Sanoop Sajan Koshy — $250
Institution: Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Essay Title: Neither Washington nor Beijing: How the Asia-Pacific Is Building Its Own Order
Xinwen (Sheena) Liang & Yu Ning Ho — $250
Institution: Columbia University SIPA (Liang); Columbia University & National University of Singapore (Ho)
Essay Title: Competitive Co-Governance: Rethinking U.S.-China Cooperation in an Era of Strategic Rivalry
Tang Gula — $250
Institution: School of International Studies, Peking University（北京大学国际关系学院）
Essay Title: Three Decades of Chinese State-Owned Enterprises Listed in the U.S. (1993–2023): Evolution, Underlying Logic, and Policy Implications｜中国国资企业赴美上市三十年（1993-2023）：历程、逻辑与启示
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.
