Global China: Trans-Pacific Interactions and Exchanges in the Twentieth Century

This panel brings together scholars based from the U.S., Australia, and Hong Kong to explore the multidimensional interactions and exchanges that shaped the Pacific world in the twentieth century. We center on China’s pivotal role in negotiating global and local dynamics. By analyzing cultural, political, and intellectual exchanges across the Pacific, this panel illuminates how the Chinese diaspora engaged with global networks to navigate challenges of imperialism, internationalism, and modernity. The four papers span diverse yet interconnected themes, emphasizing the interplay between global forces and local realities while uncovering underexplored histories of cross-cultural influence and negotiation.

Rethinking the Global China and Chinese diaspora in the Pacific World, four presenters will share their rigorous research on this theme. Iris Lei reviews Hong Kong’s prostitution industry from 1904 to 1935, examining the intersection of gender and colonial modernity by considering its global interaction. Dr. Di Luo focuses on the Chongqing School of Journalism during WWII, revealing broader tensions between press freedom and wartime propaganda. Bohan Zhang explores Hawaii’s Pan-Pacific movement in China, shedding light on an underexplored cross of Chinese and Pacific history in the Interwar period. Shouyue Zhang studies Chinese Americans in China during the Chinese Exclusion Era, demonstrating that this reverse migration reshaped both their dual identities and the duality of Chinese modernization.

Together, these papers contribute to a broader discussion that redefines China’s global position and cultural identity during a century of transformation. This panel underscores the importance of global-local linkages, transnational mobility, and intellectual exchange in shaping the histories of Asia and America. The panel integrates interdisciplinary perspectives to illuminate how Chinese actors negotiated global crises, adapted international networks, and mediated cultural exchanges, thereby shaping national and transnational identities. By focusing on the circulation of knowledge, mobility, and institutional engagement, this panel repositions China as a central and active participant in the Pacific world, offering new insights into the complexities of global history. By engaging with themes of migration, education, journalism, and internationalism, this panel enriches our understanding of how China navigated and influenced the evolving global order in the twentieth century.