NCUSCR Events

Paul Pickowicz, long a professor of Chinese history at the University of California, San Diego, was among the first Americans to go to China after the People's Republic of China was established in 1949. He kept a detailed journal and took nearly a thousand photographs during his four-week stay, some of which are collected in A Sensational Encounter with High Socialist China, a recollection of the historic visit. Professor Pickowicz uses the five senses to draw the reader into his experiences.

The National Committee hosted a virtual program on August 11, 2020 with Dr. Paul Pickowicz to discuss his book and the very different China and era in U.S.-China relations that it portrays.

As U.S.-China relations continue to deteriorate, two components of the relationship that have been successful in the past are increasingly coming under attack: higher education and scientific collaboration.

On August 6, 2020, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies, and Michigan-China Innovation Center held the final in a series of "Bilateral Breakdown" webinars exploring U.S.-China relations through the lens of disengagement. Speakers Philip Bucksbaum, who holds several positions at Stanford University and its SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and is also the current president of the American Physical Society, and Bradley Farnsworth, vice president of the American Council on Education, discussed the effects the downturn in U.S.-China relations is having on American innovation and competitiveness, international students and universities, and research and development. Mary Gallagher, director of the University of Michigan's International Institute and the Amy and Alan Lowenstein Professor in Democracy, Democratization, and Human Rights, moderated the discussion.

Recent Executive Orders banning transactions with ByteDance and Tencent in 45 days have left the future of Tiktok and WeChat in the United States in question. What do they mean for U.S.-China technology decoupling and two-way venture capital investing? What are the implications for U.S.-China relations?

The National Committee held an urgent discussion with cybersecurity expert Ms. Melissa Hathaway and tech investor Mr. Gary Rieschel on August 13, 2020 to discuss the reasons for the Executive Orders and the potential outcomes.

On August 5, 2020, the National Committee hosted a virtual program with - Anla Cheng, founder & CEO of SupChina - Erika Lee, Regents Professor of American History and director of the Immigration History Research Center at the University of Minnesota - Nancy Yao Maasbach, president of the Museum of Chinese in America - Jerry Yang, National Committee board member and co-founder and former CEO of Yahoo! The speakers discussed discrimination, generational divides, the model minority myth, and Sino-American relations.

In September 2011, sheriff's deputies noticed three ethnic Chinese men near an Iowa cornfield. What started as a trespassing inquiry turned into a two-year FBI operation in which investigators bugged the men's rental cars, used a warrant intended for foreign terrorists and spies, and flew surveillance planes over corn country – all to protecting Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer trade secrets. In The Scientist and the Spy, Mara Hvistendahl describes the unusually far-reaching investigation, which pitted a veteran FBI special agent assigned to fight a national-security priority against Florida resident Robert Mo, who after his academic career faltered took a questionable job with a Chinese agricultural company as a way to support his family.

Industrial espionage by Chinese companies, a real issue, is among the reasons that the Trump administration gives when explaining the genesis of the U.S.-China trade war, and a top counterintelligence target of the FBI. Have efforts to address the problem been successful? With what collateral damage?

Author Mara Hvistendahl joined the National Committee on July 30, 2020 for a virtual program to discuss her book and the issues it raises for the United States, Sino-American collaboration in the sciences, and U.S.-China relations. The event was moderated by National Committee board member and Dorsey & Whitney attorney, Mr. Nelson Dong.

In mid-July 2020, the National Committee convened a virtual session of its U.S.-China Track II Dialogue on Healthcare. Coming in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the participants focused on how our two nations can work together on global health crises in such areas as public health reforms, containment strategies, and healthcare delivery.

On July 30, 2020, the National Committee hosted a virtual public event to hear takeaways and lessons learned from the Healthcare Dialogue discussions. National Committee President Stephen Orlins led a conversation with George Gao, Director, China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention; Margaret Hamburg, Foreign Secretary, National Academy of Medicine and former Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration; Gordon Liu, PKU BOYA Professor of Economics, Ministry of Education Yangtze River Scholar Professor of Economics, National School of Development, Peking University; former FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan, Director, Robert J Margolis Center for Health Policy and Margolis Professor of Business, Medicine and Health Policy, Duke University; and Julia Spencer, Associate Vice President, Global Vaccine Public Policy, Partnerships and Government Affairs, Merck.

In October 2015, during the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, the Party committed to eliminating rural poverty by 2020. The goal was reiterated at the 19th National Party Congress in 2017. Now that we are halfway through 2020, what is the state of poverty elimination in rural China? What has been the impact of COVID-19? How are "left behind" children doing, especially now that some migrant laborers have been unable to return to their urban jobs because of the coronavirus? How do environmental issues, cultural preservation, and ethnic tourism fit in?

On July 23, 2020, the National Committee held a virtual program with Ms. Mei Lan, born and raised in a Chinese village, and Mr. Matthew Chitwood, an American who lived in the Chinese countryside until late last year, to discuss the current situation in rural China.

In April 2020, reports about the poor treatment of African residents in Guangzhou were published around the world, including in the United States. COVID-19 had exacerbated the sometimes tense relationship between Africans and Chinese in China. China has invested in the manufacturing and agriculture sectors across Africa in recent decades, as well as in infrastructure development through loans, export credits, and official development assistance. What is the nature of the financing, and of the relationships between China and African nations? What does Chinese policy toward Africa mean for the United States, its bilateral relationship with China, and its relationships with the countries of Africa?

On June 24, 2020, the National Committee held a virtual program with Professor Deborah Bräutigam, one of the world's foremost experts on China and Africa and a National Committee board member, and Ambassador Jendayi Frazer, former U.S. ambassador to South Africa and former assistant secretary of state for African affairs, to discuss China, Africa, and U.S. policy.

About the speakers: https://www.ncuscr.org/event/china-africa-american-policy

On June 18, 2020, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations hosted a webinar with Frank H. Wu, President of Queens College and former President of the Committee of 100. In a moderated conversation with NCUSCR President Steve Orlins, Mr. Wu discussed the impact that coronavirus and the U.S. Department of Justice's China Initiative will have on higher education and the future of Chinese students in the United States. He also elaborated on the continuing importance of educational exchange.

This program was originally held exclusively for participants from the National Committee's next generation leadership initiatives, including alumni of the U.S. Foreign Policy Colloquium, the Student Leaders Exchange, and the Schwarzman Scholars Program. The event was designed not only as a unique opportunity to hear from Mr. Wu, but also for the Committee's network of program participants and alumni to connect across the United States and China.

About Frank H. Wu: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_H._Wu

In her new book, "Ambitious and Anxious: How Chinese Undergraduates Succeed and Struggle in American Higher Education," based on research conducted both in the United States and in China, Yingyi Ma argues that Chinese college student experiences of American education spring from the enormous social changes in China of the last few decades, creating both ambition and anxiety. She offers some policy suggestions to American educators and administrators, starting with the recruitment process, running through classroom practices, and concluding with career services. On June 23, 2020, the National Committee held a virtual program with Dr. Ma where she discussed her book. Speaker bio: ncuscr.org/event/ambitious-and-anxious