Professor Mei Renyi receives USCET’s Lifetime Achievement Award from Ambassador Julia Chang Bloch in Beijing, 2016
The US-China Education Trust (USCET) mourns the passing of Professor Mei Renyi, a pioneering scholar of American Studies in China, devoted educator, longtime partner of USCET, and cherished friend. Professor Mei passed away in Beijing on August 19, 2026, at the age of 91.
Professor Mei helped establish American Studies as a field of teaching and scholarship in China and mentored generations of students and scholars who would carry that work forward.
Born in 1935 and raised in Shanghai, Professor Mei entered the English Department of Beijing Foreign Languages Institute, now Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), in 1953 and remained at the university to teach after graduating in 1957. In 1979, he joined Professor Deng Yanchang and other colleagues in establishing BFSU’s American Studies Center, one of the earliest institutions of its kind in China. He later served for many years as its director.
In 1982, Professor Mei traveled to Yale University as one of the first group of Fulbright visiting scholars from China. His experience there contributed to a scholarly career devoted to American diplomatic history, U.S.-China relations, politics, society, and culture. He championed an interdisciplinary approach to American Studies, believing that understanding another country required rigorous study, critical thinking, and a willingness to see a society in its full complexity.
This commitment made Professor Mei an invaluable partner in USCET’s mission. From the earliest years of USCET’s American Studies Network (ASN), he helped build a community dedicated to strengthening the study of the United States in China. He participated in the first annual ASN conference in 2004 and remained closely involved in the network in the years that followed, contributing his scholarship, guidance, and support for younger scholars.
In 2016, USCET honored Professor Mei with its Lifetime Achievement Award in American Studies. Ambassador Julia Chang Bloch recognized him as the “Dean of American Studies in China,” as more than one hundred of his former students gathered to honor their teacher. That same year, USCET and BFSU inaugurated the Professor Mei Renyi American Studies Essay Competition to encourage a new generation of Chinese students to contribute to the field. In 2019, USCET and BFSU launched the Professor Mei Renyi American Studies Foundation to support the continued development of American Studies and a new generation of Chinese scholars.
Professor Mei’s life reflected a conviction that resonates deeply with USCET’s mission: meaningful understanding between countries is built through education, scholarship, dialogue, and sustained engagement. At a time when U.S.-China relations face profound challenges, his lifelong commitment to understanding across cultures remains especially meaningful.
Those of us privileged to know and work alongside Professor Mei will remember a pioneering scholar, generous teacher, mentor, and steadfast friend. His legacy lives on in the institutions he helped build and, above all, in the generations of students and scholars he inspired.
On behalf of USCET’s Advisory Council, staff, and friends around the world, we extend our deepest condolences to Professor Mei’s family, colleagues, students, and the Beijing Foreign Studies University community. We are profoundly grateful for his friendship, his extraordinary contributions to American Studies, and his lifelong commitment to deeper understanding between the United States and China.