NCUSCR Events

About CHINA Town Hall: ncuscr.org/CTH.

Confronting the global challenges of climate change and communicable disease cannot be achieved by any single country, but must be met by constructive cooperation among nations. Although the United States and China will compete in many areas, it is imperative they join forces to face these universal problems that affect global stability and endanger the world's most vulnerable people.

On November 18, 2020, the National Committee held a discussion with Margaret Hamburg (National Academy of Medicine), Ryan Hass (Brookings Institution), and Angel Hsu (Yale-NUS) to consider the roles of the United States and China in addressing these two major transnational issues. The conversation was moderated by Merit Janow (Columbia School of International and Public Affairs).

About CHINA Town Hall: www.ncuscr.org/CTH.

Robust bilateral economic and trade ties have been the greatest source of strength and foundation for engagement in the U.S.-China relationship for decades. Yet in recent years those ties have been frayed by an ongoing trade war, the threat of decoupling, and a global economic and public health crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National Committee held a conversation on November 17, 2020 with Amy Celico (Albright Stonebridge Group), Huang Yiping (Peking University), and Andy Rothman (Matthews Asia), moderated by NCUSCR President Stephen Orlins, to discuss the current trade tensions, prospects for economic growth during and after COVID-19, and the future of U.S.-China economic ties.

Learn more at ncuscr.org/CTH.

Starting with ping-pong diplomacy in 1971, cultural diplomacy has played a pivotal role in facilitating mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and China. This event will gather leading cultural figures to discuss how, despite sometimes turbulent political and economic relations, food and film continue to reveal our shared humanity and connect us through culture.

On November 12, 2020, the National Committee held a discussion with Raymond Chang (Major League Baseball China), Lucas Sin (Junzi Kitchen), and Janet Yang (Janet Yang Productions) on the importance, challenges, and future of cross-cultural learning between the United States and China. NCUSCR Public Intellectuals Program fellow Alison Friedman (Performing Arts of West Kowloon Cultural District Authority) moderated the event.

Sign up for more CHINA Town Hall 2020 events: http://www.ncuscr.org/CTH

Renowned investor, philanthropist, and best-selling author Ray Dalio discusses today's most important issues, and the critical roles the United States and China play in an era of rapid global change, at the 14th annual CHINA Town Hall Keynote on Tuesday, November 10, 2020. Ray Dalio and his family have been deeply involved in business and philanthropic efforts in China for 35 years. He is the author of the best-selling "Principles: Life and Work" and "The Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail," which will be released this winter.

As its glittering urban skylines attest, China has apparently quickly transformed itself from a place of stark poverty into a modern, urban, technologically savvy economic powerhouse. Scott Rozelle and Natalie Hell show in Invisible China, however, that the truth is much more complicated and perhaps deeply concerning.

China's growth has relied heavily on unskilled labor. Most of the workers who have fueled the country's rise come from rural villages and have never attended high school. The unskilled wage rate has been rising for more than a decade, inducing companies inside China to automate at an unprecedented rate and triggering an exodus of those seeking cheaper labor elsewhere.

Drawing on extensive surveys on the ground in China, Dr. Rozelle and Ms. Hell demonstrate that its labor force has one of the lowest levels of education of any country with a similarly large economy. The limited education of so many workers may leave them unable to find work in the formal workplace as China's economy changes and manufacturing jobs move elsewhere. In Invisible China, the authors speak not only to an urgent humanitarian concern but also to a potential economic crisis that could upend economies and foreign relations around the globe.

On November 2, the National Committee hosted a virtual program with Professor Scott Rozelle and commentator Dr. Qin Gao.

In August 2020, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II visited Taiwan, the highest level American cabinet officer to do so since the establishment of diplomatic relations with the PRC. A month later Under Secretary of State Keith Krach followed, representing the U.S. government at former President Lee Teng-hui's funeral. What do these high-level visits suggest about the Trump administration's policies toward Taiwan and the PRC, and about cross-strait relations?

The National Committee held a virtual program with Professors Margaret K. Lewis and Shelley Rigger on October 27.

How does the rise of China alter the context in which U.S. policy should be assessed? In China from a U.S. Policy Perspective, Professor Eric Heikkila divides policy into three broad areas: economics, sustainability, and geopolitics. In each one, he analyzes key policy issues, demonstrating how a growing China exerts pressure on American policy, not explicitly through lobbying or negotiation, but implicitly through the reality it creates. Dr. Heikkila argues that at a time of increasing bilateral tensions, it is critical for American policymakers to focus on the many policy questions affected by China's rise.

The National Committee held a virtual program on October 26, 2020 with Professor Eric Heikkila.

At a meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum in 2010, the Chinese foreign minister, angered by a question about the South China Sea dispute, declared: "China is a big country and other countries are small countries, and that is just a fact." The authors whose essays are collected in The Deer and the Dragon examine the nature, dynamics, and implications of that fact – and the inequality that has resulted between China and the countries of Southeast Asia.

What does the history of Sino-Southeast Asian relations tell us about future possibilities? Do economic relations already suggest dependence? How do the countries of Southeast Asia view China and its intentions, and how does China see the region? What is the role of ASEAN? How does U.S. policy affect the relative influence of China and the United States in Southeast Asia?

The National Committee held a virtual program with Dr. Donald Emmerson featuring commentary from Dr. Ann Marie Murphy on October 22, 2020. Stanford University's Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center and the New York Southeast Asia Network co-sponsored the event.

Tensions between the United States and China regarding the South China Sea are rising along with the recent broader breakdown of bilateral relations. The legitimacy of historical rights claims, entitlements and rights of other claimant states such as the Philippines and Vietnam, and the boundaries of freedom of navigation operations are among the central issues. Despite their differences, both the United States and China wish to avoid conflict and uphold professionalism at sea.

Is there any significant space for cooperation in South China Sea interactions beyond military engagement, including biodiversity protection and Coast Guard activities? What role do maritime and international law play in the rapidly evolving bilateral relationship? How is China likely to respond to the upcoming U.S. election in its maneuvers in the South China Sea?

On October 20, 2020, the National Committee hosted a virtual program featuring Peter Dutton, M. Taylor Fravel, Tabitha Mallory, Wu Shicun, and Zhu Feng. The five experts discussed the challenging bilateral issues, and provided their assessments of South China Sea development including maritime engagement of China and other claimants and its impact on South China Sea development, mechanisms for U.S.-China maritime military conflict management, and the role of the United States and China in rulemaking and building security protocols.

In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the One Belt One Road policy, later known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a global development strategy involving infrastructure projects and associated financing around the world. While the Chinese government frames the plan as one promoting transnational connectivity, critics see it as part of a strategy to achieve global dominance.

Rivers of Iron examines one aspect of the BRI: China's effort to create an inter-country railway system connecting China and its seven Southeast Asian neighbors (Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam). The book explores the political strengths and weaknesses of the plan, as well as the capacity of the countries involved to resist, shape, and perhaps take advantage of China's actions. The authors seek to explain how domestic politics in the eight Asian nations shape their varying responses and behaviors. How does China wield power using infrastructure? Do smaller states have agency? How should we understand the role of infrastructure in broader development? Does industrial policy work? How should other global powers respond?

The National Committee held a virtual program on October 14, 2020 with Professor David M. Lampton.