Shenzhou 13: Blue Planet Outside the Window stands out amid China’s wave of war films as a visually stunning space documentary centered on astronaut Wang Yaping, the first Chinese woman to conduct a spacewalk. While national pride runs through the film, its breathtaking imagery and human focus elevate it beyond propaganda, offering a universal message about shared humanity and life on Earth.

Chinese tourists dominate temple-centered travel in Asia, with Thailand seeing a sharp drop due to safety and infrastructure issues, while Japan faces overcrowded destinations like Kyoto and Nara. Visitor patterns reveal regional tourism, commerce, and cultural trends, leading into Part Two’s focus on China’s domestic travel.

China introduced the K-visa on October 1, 2025, for young foreign STEM professionals, offering longer stays, multiple entries, and broader benefits. The program seeks to boost innovation and international collaboration amid slowing population growth, but faces public concerns over job competition and talent retention.

The international community looks to the United States to be a champion of partnership, not to reduce global health to a mere tool of geopolitical competition. The choice Washington makes now will echo for generations.

Nanjing Photo Studio (also known as Dead to Rights), China’s 2025 summer box office hit, uses photography as a metaphor for history, memory, and justice during the Nanjing Massacre, with its most powerful scenes set in a portrait studio that embodies both personal dreams and collective trauma.

Philip Tinari, Director of UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing, reflects on art as a rare space for exchange at a time of growing U.S.-China mistrust. In conversation with CUSEF President James Chau, he shares how contemporary art has evolved in China, why American artists like Andy Warhol resonate with Chinese audiences, and how his own cross-cultural life has become a “gift” shaped by years of immersion and shared creativity.

The U.S. has effectively banned Chinese electric vehicles from its market but has yet to overly pressure allies to do the same, allowing countries like Thailand to openly adopt Chinese EVs. Despite political tensions and trade barriers, Chinese electric cars are rapidly gaining ground in Southeast Asia, offering a clean and affordable alternative in cities long plagued by pollution and traffic — and it would benefit the world for it to stay that way.

Amid rising geopolitical tensions, U.S.-China student exchanges, once a cornerstone of mutual benefit, are now under threat from visa restrictions and declining enrollment, risking long-term damage to educational, scientific, and diplomatic ties between the two nations.

In May, the world lost one of its most thoughtful and influential voices in international affairs: Professor Joseph S. Nye Jr. At 88, he left behind a legacy as a teacher, theorist, and bridge-builder between nations. I am deeply saddened by his passing. I was privileged to have known him personally, and as I reflect on our interactions over the years, I am reminded of his immense generosity of spirit, intellectual clarity, and unwavering commitment to peace through understanding.

The Trump administration's threat to revoke foreign student visas exemplifies a broader assault on intellectual openness and U.S. higher education's global appeal, risking long-term damage to its reputation as a welcoming, world-class academic destination.