Over the course of two years, higher education consultant Susan Frost shuttled between the U.S. and China 16 times, all in the name of forging closer connections between the two countries’ top universities.

 “Our system of higher education has a lot to offer the Chinese—they are very interested in introducing the liberal arts into their curriculum and producing graduates who are trained to think creatively and ask questions,” says Dr. Frost, a former vice provost and vice president of strategic development at Emory University.

“When you talk to groups of faculty, there’s a real energy among those who are younger. They’re interested in providing an open education with much more of an edge — they are not in the habit of dampening questions.”

While China is still a one-party government, it is evolving in its tolerance for public dissent and criticism, and higher education is changing as well. In her talks with Chinese officials, Frost has seen firsthand that they understand the importance of a liberal education and seek to infuse critical thinking and civil debate into the educational system.

“Contrary to their predecessors, community leaders now hear from discontented citizens and are realizing that they need to learn how to manage conflict effectively,” she says. “These leaders know that the ‘freedom to disagree’ is a hallmark of Western society, and they want to learn more about how to lead in this new context.”

Technology has hastened this change. Now that the Internet is a common tool, residents are objecting to things that happen in their communities, and public officials are getting a crash course in how to lead in the face of conflict.

Frost has noted a few other positive changes as well. She has met a number of female leaders in her travels who have considerable authority. In addition, there is more interest in religion than one would imagine. One department of the government is now devoted to the management of religious affairs, and the leader is charged with encouraging spiritual expression and promoting interreligious understanding. In her travels, she has visited cathedrals, mosques, Buddhist monasteries, Hindu temples, and many church services.

While many rural areas still operate as they did hundreds of years ago (“When you get behind somebody with an ox on the road, travel takes a long time”), Chinese cities are amazing engines of progress, Frost says.

“They have an incredible capacity to plan and create the physical infrastructure they need, and usually finish it on time,” she says. “I’ve toured several medical schools, research facilities, hospitals, in addition to the new higher education towns. The leaders are eager to learn how to manage medical systems, to improve medical care for the population. I think the leaders know that they need more flexible ways to manage a population that big.”

A Chinese scholar she met summed up the situation this way: “China has the hardware of a major society, but not the software—the human resource systems, planning systems, financial systems, and other such processes.”