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US-China relations
ChinaDiplomacy

‘Music diplomacy’ hopes for US-China harmony voiced at launch of Juilliard School campus in Tianjin

  • Outpost of famed New York performing arts conservatory started operating last year but recent inauguration praises US-China cultural exchange
  • While potential for dialogue is praised by observers, there is concern about China’s recent crackdowns on public entertainers

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Students perform at the Tianjin Juilliard School, which was inaugurated on October 26. It started operating in October 2020. Photo: Tianjin Juilliard School
Linda Lew
The American performing arts conservatory Juilliard School has inaugurated its first overseas campus in China, receiving congratulations from First Lady Peng Liyuan and China’s foreign vice-minister in a sign that Beijing is pushing music diplomacy.
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The institution in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin is the first to offer US-accredited music degrees in mainland China and has been operating since October last year. Its campus was officially inaugurated last week.

The Tianjin Juilliard School is in a newly built park along the Hai River in Binhai’s Yujiapu financial district. Photo: Zhang Chao
The Tianjin Juilliard School is in a newly built park along the Hai River in Binhai’s Yujiapu financial district. Photo: Zhang Chao
Xie Feng, the foreign vice-minister, met Joseph Polisi, the president emeritus and the school’s chief China officer, on Friday and said the Tianjin Juilliard School served a unique function in the exchange between Chinese and American young people.

“[The school] can serve as a link that protects and strengthens China-US relations,” Xie was quoted as saying in a Chinese foreign ministry statement.

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“Following ping pong diplomacy, music diplomacy can be used to help the cultural exchange between China and the US return to normal.”

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