Seventeen U.S. undergraduates spent the second half of July in Shanghai for a business program at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (SUFE). They came from Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Michigan, the University of California, the University of Wisconsin, and other schools. Over 18 days, they took Chinese classes geared toward the workplace, visited local companies, worked on case studies, and explored the city.

The program was designed to build both professional knowledge and business Chinese proficiency. Daily workplace Chinese classes and personalized tutoring ran throughout the session. The program also took students to the Shanghai Stock Exchange Investor Education Base for an introduction to China's capital markets, and to several local companies — Shanghai Aoshaiji Intelligent Technology, Yimidida Supply Chain Group, Shanghai Bairimeng Technology, and the Shanghai RCEP Center — where they saw how firms in finance, technology, and logistics operate in the Chinese market. At each stop, they sat down with company leaders to discuss competitive dynamics, AI applications and trends, and cross-border strategies. The students also shared observations from their own industries and markets back home.

Beyond the formal schedule, students experienced daily life and culture in Shanghai. They walked along the Lujiazui waterfront and took an evening cruise on the Huangpu River. They tried local breakfasts, joined tai chi and Wuqinxi (Five-Animal Exercises) classes, and visited Panlong Tiandi, a restored historic town with modern retail and dining. They also played table tennis with local residents.

At the closing ceremony, Rong Jun, deputy dean of the School of International Cultural Exchange, praised the group's performance and quoted a line from a Tang dynasty poem — "A bosom friend afar brings a distant land near" — to encourage the students to become bridges between China and the United States.

Shi Zhongqi, a professor from Columbia University, praised the students for stepping up to challenges and making steady gains in their spoken Chinese through real workplace interactions.

Yan Jia, a SUFE alumna who now manages the Huangpu branch of Industrial Bank in Shanghai, said the students actively engaged with industry professionals throughout the program, exchanging ideas and offering perspectives from their own backgrounds. She also noted that the time they spent together would stay with them as a shared memory.

The students then received their certificates.

A final presentation session, held both online and in person, gave students a chance to look back on their three-week experience. They reported on what they had learned from company visits, case studies, cultural activities, and city explorations — and talked about the challenges they faced in cross-cultural communication and how they worked through them. For many, the program left them with a deeper, more grounded understanding of China — its society, its business culture, and its everyday life. Just as importantly, the friendships formed along the way became a meaningful part of the experience.

The program was built around real-world business environments in China and case studies of Chinese companies expanding globally. Its goal was to deepen people-to-people ties between the U.S. and China while giving American undergraduates a clearer picture of how China's economy and businesses work today. By combining language learning with firsthand industry exposure, participants came away with a better understanding of China's finance, technology, and logistics sectors. SUFE says it plans to continue offering similar international programs to foster cross-cultural exchange and prepare students for future engagement with China.

Source: Shanghai University of Finance and Economics