edWebinars
«Back to all edWebinarsTikTok, Tariffs, and Taiwan: Spark Curiosity and Classroom Conversations About China
Tuesday, January 27, 2026 @ 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm EST
Presented by Jane Highley, Social Studies Teacher, Devon Preparatory School (PA); Dr. Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Maurice R. Greenberg Senior Fellow for China Studies, Council on Foreign Relations; and Charles Hopkins, Managing Director, Teaching and Learning, Council on Foreign Relations
Sponsored by CFR Education
Learn more about viewing the live presentation and the recording, earning your CE certificate, and using our new accessibility features.
From viral TikTok trends to headlines about tariffs, today’s students are already connected to China, even if they don’t realize it. Helping them make sense of these everyday experiences opens the door to powerful, real-world learning across social studies, economics, current events, history, and global issues.
Join CFR Education, the educational arm of the Council on Foreign Relations, for this edWebinar to explore how to bring conversations about U.S.-China relations into your classroom in ways that spark curiosity and critical thinking. Hear from a global expert, an award-winning social studies teacher, and an educational leader as they unpack how China’s influence in technology, trade, and geopolitics is shaping your students’ world, and how understanding these connections prepares them for the challenges and opportunities of their future.
Attendees will take away:
- FREE, ready-to-use, nonpartisan teaching and learning resources from CFR Education
- Insight into current U.S.-China dynamics and why they matter for American students
- Tips for integrating current events into your curriculum to engage students in meaningful conversation
- Classroom-tested examples of how global topics, such as U.S.-China relations, can enhance civic and critical thinking skills
Join this edWebinar to learn how to help your students connect what they see online to the world around them and bring global affairs to life in your classroom. This edWebinar will be of interest to middle and high school teachers, librarians, school leaders, and district leaders.
About the Presenters
Jane Highley is a middle and high school social studies teacher at Devon Preparatory School in Devon, Pennsylvania, where she teaches AP U.S. Government, human geography, comparative government, and civics. She is the 2024 winner of the Jack Miller Center K-12 Teaching Excellence Award, which is awarded to an educator who demonstrates an exceptional ability to engage students in the story of America through their teaching. She earned a bachelor’s in English and history at the University of California, Davis, and a master’s in education at the University of Pennsylvania. She also earned a master’s in American history at La Salle University. She is a 2017 recipient of the James Madison Memorial Fellowship, which made it possible for her to earn that master’s in American history.
Dr. Zongyuan Zoe Liu is the Maurice R. Greenberg Senior Fellow for China Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Her work focuses on international finance, sovereign wealth funds, industrial policies, and the geoeconomics of energy transition, and her regional expertise is in East Asia and the Middle East. Dr. Liu also teaches in the capacity of an adjunct faculty member at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) of Columbia University and Columbia Business School. She is also a Senior Research Scholar at the Institute of Global Politics at SIPA and a Wilson China Fellow. Dr. Liu is the author of Can BRICS De-dollarize the Global Financial System? (Cambridge University Press) and Sovereign Funds: How the Communist Party of China Finances its Global Ambitions (Harvard University Press). The book Sovereign Funds is the 2024 winner of the PROSE Best Book Award in Business, Finance, and Management.
Charles Hopkins is the Managing Director of Teaching and Learning at the Council on Foreign Relations, where he helps to develop teaching resources and works with instructors and institutions who use CFR Education resources. Before CFR, he taught middle and high school social studies both in the United States and abroad.
Learn more about viewing the live presentation and the recording, earning your CE certificate, and using our new accessibility features.
Join the K-12 Social Studies and Civics community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view recordings of previous programs to earn CE certificates.
CFR Education, the educational arm of the Council on Foreign Relations, helps middle, high school, and higher education students understand and engage with today’s most pressing global issues. With over 800 free, nonpartisan, multimedia teaching and learning resources, CFR Education’s supplemental materials help students gain the knowledge, skills, and perspective needed to navigate today’s interconnected world. CFR Education also provides professional development and programming opportunities to support educators as they take on this crucial work.
