NCUSCR Events

According to a recent report published by the Council on Foreign Relations, "China's Belt and Road: Implications for the United States," the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), President Xi Jinping's signature foreign policy undertaking and the world's largest infrastructure program, poses a significant challenge to U.S. economic, political, climate change, security, and global health interests. The United States has a clear interest in adopting a strategy that both pressures China to alter its BRI practices and provides an effective alternative.

On May 4, 2021, the National Committee hosted a virtual program with report co-chairs Jacob Lew and Gary Roughead and co-authors Jennifer Hillman and David Sacks, as they discussed recommendations for an effective United States response to BRI.

On April 30, 2021, the National Committee held a virtual program with Robert Blackwill (Council on Foreign Relations) and Philip Zelikow (University of Virginia), moderated by leading Taiwan authority Shelley Rigger (Davidson College), to discuss U.S. policy options for a productive relationship with Taiwan.

On April 28, 2021, the National Committee hosted a virtual celebration of the 50th anniversary of ping pong diplomacy. Ms. Jan Berris, vice president of the National Committee who accompanied the Chinese ping pong delegation on its travels; Ms. Judy Hoarfrost, a former United States table tennis champion who visited China with the U.S. team; and Dr. Doug Spelman, a retired foreign service officer and academic who served as an interpreter for the Chinese team discussed ping pong diplomacy – how it came to be, its historical and political context, and its significance then and now. The conversation was moderated by Mr. Alex DeAngelis, a staff member at the Committee on Scholarly Communication with the People's Republic of China for much of the 1970s, who then moved to the National Science Foundation, based in Washington and Beijing.

On April 22, 2021, the National Committee held a virtual program with Angel Hsu, Jonas Nahm, and Alex Wang to discuss the future of U.S.-China climate cooperation in a conversation moderated by China energy expert Joanna Lewis. The program was held in partnership with the Penn Project on the Future of US-China Relations, which is sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania's Center for the Study of Contemporary China.

In his new book, "Stronger: Adapting America's China Strategy in an Era of Competitive Interdependence," Ryan Hass examines the relative advantages of the United States as he considers U.S.-China relations. On April 19, 2021, the National Committee held a virtual program with Ryan Hass of the Brookings Institution, in which he provided an analysis of how the United States might productively approach its relationship with China.

While violence toward Asian Americans has always existed in the United States, the community has faced racist violence and hate crimes at a much higher rate over the last year. Between March 2020 and February 2021, Stop AAPI Hate reported 3,795 hate incidents nationwide. Experts argue this phenomenon has been fueled by Sinophobia, anti-China foreign policy, and xenophobic political rhetoric unleashed during the Covid-19 pandemic. On April 12, 2021, the National Committee held a virtual two-part program in which Jessica J. Lee and Ian Shin discussed the impact of anti-China political rhetoric on the current domestic U.S. climate, and Congresswoman Judy Chu addressed anti-Asian racism through legislative change. Learn more about anti-Asian racism in the United States, and what you can do to help: https://www.ncuscr.org/anti-racism

In recent years, autonomous vehicles (AV) have moved from the world of science fiction to reality. While fully self-driving cars may be a decade or two away, robotaxis and driverless buses are already here. The advent of AVs offers enormous opportunities, but will also bring great disruption to the overall transportation market. China and the United States are both moving rapidly to take advantage of these exciting changes. What are the major innovations we will see over the next ten years? How can U.S. and Chinese corporations collaborate in this growing market? And how can our two governments, at the local and national levels, handle the challenges AVs present?

On March 22, 2021, the National Committee held a virtual program with Mr. John Wall, Mr. Michael Yuan, and Ms. Karlyn Stanley to discuss the state of autonomous vehicle development and regulation in the United States and China.

Leland Miller of China Beige Book discussed the current state of China's economy, based on fresh data from the world's largest private in-country data collection network tracking the Chinese marketplace. The data are gathered from thousands of firms throughout China across various sectors and industries. What does the state of the Chinese economy suggest for effective U.S. policy? What should the United States be looking at as it considers China's growth, labor, inflation, credit, and banking, among other factors? How should economic policy fit into the larger bilateral relationship? Where is the Biden administration likely to take policy next?

The National Committee held an event on March 25, 2021 with Mr. Leland Miller, where he explored the latest developments in China's economy and their impact on the Sino-American relationship and Biden administration policy.

On March 9, 2021, the National Committee hosted a virtual program with Mr. Winston Ma, where he explored how China's innovation ecosystem drives next generation unicorns and its young netizens participate in the evolving digital economy, and what emerging markets can learn from China as they dive headlong into the mobile-first economy.

Winston Ma, most recently managing director and head of the North America office of China Investment Corporation (CIC), is the author of, The Digital War: How China's Tech Power Shapes the Future of AI, Blockchain, and Cyberspace.

The National Committee held a virtual program on February 24, 2021 with Dr. Vanda Felbab-Brown and Mr. Ben Westhoff, moderated by Ms. Emily Feng, who discussed the current status of the opioid epidemic, bilateral efforts to curb the supply of fentanyl in the United States, and the prospects for progress moving forward.