The China Bridge Challenge case competition invites student teams to explore the intricate complexities encountered by the U.S. and China through a myriad of challenges and a rapidly evolving relationship, and find a way out through innovative collaborations.
Over the past decade, tensions in the U.S.-China relationship have increased, growing more antagonistic in areas from education and research to human rights, geopolitical developments, and trade and tariffs. The road ahead has numerous obstacles and U.S.-China relations face new and difficult challenges every day. While the development of an equitable, peaceful, and sustainable U.S.-China relationship remains crucial, a solution cannot be reached without sufficient mutual understanding and multi-facet bilateral cooperation. Young leaders in both countries need to work together to tackle the challenges we face.
Teams will consist of 4-5 undergraduate students:
- At least one student on each team should be an international student from the greater China area and one should be a U.S. student.
- At least one student on each team should be from the College of Education and Human Development.
Teams will compete through a proposal and presentation, offering concrete plans for the next steps the U.S. and China can take to address the issue and find a solution that balances the interest and objectives of both China and the U.S.
The winning team will receive $6,000, and the runner-up will receive $4,000. Please note: Students need to be enrolled in Spring 2026 to receive the prize money.
Competition Timeline
Apply as a team or as an individual
Teams will consist of 4–5 undergraduate students. At least one student on each team should be an international student from the Greater China area. One student should be a U.S. student. One student on each team should be from the CEHD.
November 30, 2025: Deadline to identify a coach
Each team will identify a faculty coach after confirmation of team participation, and submit a signed Coach Guidelines Form by November 30, 2025.
January 23, 2026: Deadline for written proposal
Each team will submit a written proposal of 1,000–1,500 words, identifying the project's scope, topic relevance, challenge and solution, feasibility (e.g., utilize resources available to the UMN community), and impact. They are encouraged to utilize design thinking and processes to address why and how the U.S. and China should partner to solve the identified challenge. The proposals will be used to screen out any teams that have not made satisfactory progress. See the proposal template.
February 1, 2026: Selection of finalists
Teams will be notified if they are selected as finalists by February 1, 2026. Selected teams will proceed to meet with their coach again to prepare for the final presentation. There will be a maximum of six teams.
February 13, 2026: Final on-campus presentation
Each team will present their proposed project and solutions for 20 minutes, followed by a 15-minute Q&A by the judges. Judges are selected from the faculty, staff, and area experts. They will view the team presentations, evaluate the presentation according to a rubric, provide constructive feedback, and select the winning teams. We will finalize the exact timing of the program when we have a better idea of the number of teams participating. Typically, we start at 8:00 a.m. and end at 12:30 p.m. Student teams will be randomly assigned to a slot. There will be time at the end for judges to wrap up with any final thoughts.
$6,000 will be awarded to the winning team, and $4,000 to the runner-up team. The proposals and presentations of the winning teams will be posted on the China Center's website.
China Bridge Challenge Winners Encourage Information Sharing Between Cities
The team of six students, three from the University of Minnesota and three from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, proposed the U.S.-China Story Map as a way for cities in China and the U.S. to learn from each other as they pursue sustainable solutions to the climate crisis.