In this paper I discuss the necessity for educational and cultural exchanges between China and the West — and especially with the United States. As the title indicates, these exchanges are both risky and challenging, and I will discuss both the risks and the challenges. In Part One I briefly indicate the primary risks facing the international community: war, abject poverty, and planetary collapse. In Part Two I argue that the spirit of coopetition — competition within a larger spirit of cooperation — is needed to manage these risks. In Part Three I consider the challenges involved in preparing leaders and citizens to embrace the spirit of coopetition and the essential role of higher education in disseminating that spirit throughout our societies. In Part Four I focus on China's recent higher education reform. The major challenge is that the traditions of humane learning in both the West and China have been practically abandoned. Working together, and finding inspiration in their joint efforts, educational leaders and scholars from China and the West must now restore and revitalize these traditions.