Abstract
While very limited contacts and linkages among Chinese and American geographers go back to the mid-twentieth century, actual direct contacts and collaboration did not get underway until the late 1970s and 1980s following the beginning of bilateral relations and the initiation of reforms in China. These contacts began in earnest in the 1980s in the context of broader scientific and technology exchanges and focused on three main areas—the environment, energy, and climate change.
Geography in China during the post-1949 socialist era largely focused on physical geography owing to the close ties to the former Soviet Union. By contrast, American geography emphasized human geography. As ties between American and Chinese geographers grew, some convergence between the two themes emerged linked to human-environment studies. These studies enabled scholars in both countries to contribute and to enable field studies in which scholars from each country collaborated.
Despite periodic interruptions as a result of political differences between the two countries, growing numbers of geographers in both countries with mutual interests and research agendas have led to growing links and collaborations. Mutual benefits accrue to both countries as China’s economy continues to grow and the methodologies and research foci are shared among an increased number of scholars in both countries. China’s growing emphasis on its urban settings offers new opportunities for expanded cooperation and collaboration along with increased attention to the human-environment interface as a subject within rural as well urban settings.
Recent developments in the economy as well as the continuing search for energy resources and the emphasis on sustainable development indicate considerable promise for future collaboration among geographers in China and the United States.
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Shi, P., Pannell, C., Ye, T. (2014). Research Cooperation between Chinese and American Geographers and its Significance in the Quest for Sustainable Development. In: Hartmann, R., Wang, J., Ye, T. (eds) A Comparative Geography of China and the U.S.. GeoJournal Library, vol 109. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8792-5_11
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