In 2013, China Hands became the first magazine to honor young individuals for their exceptional contributions to US-China relations. We are humbled and excited to present the third edition of “25 Under 25: Leaders in US-China Relations” featuring this year’s list of 25 honorees. We hope these 25 narratives will inspire our readers to think critically about the evolving relationship between the United States and China and to embrace opportunities for cross-cultural collaboration and exchange in their own lives.

This past summer, China Hands began soliciting nominations for its third list of rising stars. As the title “25 Under 25” suggests, all applicants were required to be 25 years of age or under on January 1st, 2015. By late August, we had received more than 80 nominations. Candidates underwent a preliminary screening by the magazine’s editorial board. Finalists were passed on to our esteemed judging panel for a final evaluation. Candidates were assessed based on their academic achievements, extracurricular and professional experiences, and demonstrated leadership.

For their hard work and helpful advice, China Hands expresses its gratitude to the this year’s judges: President of the 100,000 Strong Foundation Carola McGiffert; Pulitzer Prize-Winning New York Times Shanghai correspondent David Barbosa; Director of the China Program at the Carter Center Yawei Liu; Associate Professor of Government at Cornell University Jessica Chen Weiss; and author, actor, and former host of the Golden Horse Awards Jeff Locker. We would also like to thank Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director of the Center on US-China Relations at the Asia Society, for contributing to the project in an advisory role.

Our 25 honorees hail from places as diverse as Singapore, Hong Kong, and Massachusetts and represent 22 institutions of higher education. Their work is as wide-ranging as it is impactful. One has founded a food waste conversion business in China. Another is researching Chinese domestic adoption policies and the experiences of Chinese-born adoptees raised in the United States. We hope you enjoy reading about the honorees as much as we have enjoyed learning about them.

Click the gallery to read more about our 25 honorees.