West Meets East

Stories of Americans in China

How better to learn another culture than through personal connections.

Author Bill Brown, who expected to stay in China just two years and instead found a home for thirty-five, has lived the power of intercultural exchange. In this powerful collection, he offers the stories of twenty Americans who have stayed in China long enough to know it deeply. Although the two countries have had a difficult relationship at times, the subjects of this collection have found that the China Dream and the American Dream are both the universal dream of peace and prosperity for our families and our nations.

In 2023, China President Xi Jinping emphasized the value of people-to-people relationships when he met US President Joe Biden at the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in San Francisco. President Xi stressed that “the hope of the China-US relationship lies in the people. Its foundation is in the two societies, its future depends on the youth, and its vitality comes from exchanges at subnational levels.” President Xi’s speech was lauded by those wishing for friendlier China-US relations, including Professor Hu Min, international education expert and chairman of New Channel International Education Group. Hu Min suggested publishing tales of friendships forged by Americans living in China and asked his friend to spearhead the project. The choice was self-evident, as Brown had worked diligently for two decades collecting stories of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Americans in China, even endeavoring to track down and interview their descendants in the US.

West Meets East is an opportunity to see China from a new perspective, where friendship brings countries closer together. For two great powers, we have much to gain if we pursue cooperation—and the entire world has much to lose if we do not.