Marking the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, the Chinese name “Meiguo”，literally “the beautiful country”，embodies a century-long complex perception among Chinese people to America. In this episode, Prof. Da Wei, Director of the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS), Tsinghua University, and Dr. Shao Yuqun, Director of the Institute for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS), sit down with Prof. Xie Tao, Professor and Dean of the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, and Huang Ying, a Ph.D. candidate at the School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University. Drawing on their own experiences studying, working, and traveling in the United States, the four guests explore how Chinese people have viewed America over time, whether the U.S. is actually in decline, the challenges facing American democracy nowadays, and the changing perceptions and attitudes of the younger generations in China towards the U.S.

03:20The Chinese Cognitive Framework Regarding the U.S.

08:16Is the U.S. Truly in Decline?

15:40A “Beautiful Country”: Governance and Global Leadership

18:02The US in the Eyes of China's Younger Generation

23:06Shifts in China‑U.S. Educational Exchange

24:34Crises and Challenges Facing American Democracy Today

33:25Is America’s Self-correcting Mechanism Still Working?

41:48American Soft Power and Its Global Appeal

Executive Producer：GUO Jia

Producers：QIAN Jiatong

Podcast Editor：CHAI Jingru

Content Assistant：ZHONG Huiqing

Graphics Designer：CHAI Jingru