NCUSCR U.S.-China Insights

The Justice Department's China Initiative against economic espionage and intellectual property theft has made Chinese students in the United States a focus of increasing scrutiny, while Congress has initiated legislation aiming to restrict this broad group's ability to work and study in the United States.

In light of the Justice Department's more than 3,000 active investigations of China-affiliated researchers and students in the United States, Queens College President Frank Wu discusses the initiative, the resulting increase in scrutiny of Chinese nationals and Chinese-American students, and the potential threat to American competitiveness and economic vitality that these developments present.

Frank H. Wu is the president of Queens College, former president of the Committee of 100, and a former litigator and professor of law.

President Tsai Ing-wen was re-elected in January, 2020, on a platform similar to that of her first term, yet new cross-Strait developments and changing challenges at home suggest the next four years may not be a continuation of the status quo. Seton Hall University law professor and Taiwan expert Margaret Lewis explores the possibilities for mainland-Taiwan relations as well as the local issues that will define both Tsai's second term and the near future of Taiwan.

The United States and China have historically maintained an organic relationship of exchange in the tech world: sharing financial capital, professional talent, innovative research and ideas. At the same time, individual companies have competed for dominance in each other's and global markets. Yet as cases like Huawei have shown, in recent years Washington has chosen to increasingly restrict and monitor the tech industry's ties to China, in an effort to contend with Beijing's own involvement within this field. In this episode of U.S.-China Insights, expert Matt Sheehan explains the collaborative and competitive nature of the U.S.-China tech relationship, and how it will be affected by attempts to 'securitize' and even decouple the tech sector.

Matt Sheehan is a fellow at the Paulson Institute's think tank, MacroPolo, where he leads the team's work on U.S.-China technology issues, specializing in artificial intelligence. He is the author of "The Transpacific Experiment: How China and California Collaborate and Compete for our Future."

Leading American and Chinese economists answer one question: name one way the the U.S.-China trade war has affected the American economy and global trade over the past two years. Despite the signing of a phase-one deal on January 15, until all tariffs are lifted, many of these adverse impacts will continue.

Dr. Huang Yiping, Professor and Deputy Dean, National School of Development, Peking University

Dr. Nicholas Lardy, Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics; Vice Chair of the Board, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations

Dr. Liang Hong, Head of Research, Member of the Management Committee, China International Capital Corporation

Dr. Catherine L. Mann, Global Chief Economist, Citi

Dr. Stephen Roach, Senior Fellow, Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, Yale University; Former Chairman, Morgan Stanley Asia

What can food teach us about history, immigration, and international relations? For Lucas Sin, chef and culinary director of Junzi Kitchen, food is a window into a larger world, one where Chinese and American culture and history collide, mix, and transform. From four-thousand-year-old noodles to Nixon's 1972 'chopstick diplomacy,' from the suburbanization of Americanized Chinese food to the modern proliferation of regional and fusion styles, Chef Sin discusses the evolving landscape of Chinese cuisine in the United States, and its ability to change perspectives by sparking connections between people.

Lucas Sin opened his first restaurant when he was 16, in an abandoned newspaper factory in his hometown of Hong Kong. Despite spending his Yale undergraduate years in the Cognitive Science and English departments, Lucas spent his weekends running restaurants out of his dorm, known as Y Pop-up. After stints at Michelin 3-star Kikunoi Honten in Kyoto and Modernist Cuisine in Seattle, he is now on a mission to revitalize Chinese cuisine in the United States as the chef and culinary director of Junzi Kitchen.

When the world's two largest economies become mired in trade conflict, there are bound to be global consequences. As analysts predict increasing risk for a global economic downturn, VanEck's Chief Emerging Markets Economist Natalia Gurushina looks at what the trade war might mean for other countries, and explains how these consequences could have unforeseen repercussions for both the United States and China.

Natalia Gurushina is the chief emerging markets economist for VanEck's Emerging Markets Unconstrained Fixed Income Strategy. She has been a member of the Investment Management Team since 2013. Prior to joining VanEck, Dr. Gurushina worked for Roubini Global Economics, where she was responsible for Emerging Markets Currency/Fixed Income and G10 Currency Strategies. She has also previously worked as an analyst at Pantera Capital Management, a Tiger Management spin-off, and as an EMEA economist at Deutsche Bank. Dr. Gurushina holds a Ph.D. in economic history from the University of Oxford and a B.A. in economics from Moscow State University.

The role government should play in the free market has always been a contentious issue, even more so when international trade jeopardizes national security. As the standoff between the United States and China continues, disagreements over what constitutes mutually acceptable trade practices are becoming more entrenched, with both governments accusing the other of interference and overreach. Watch Amy Celico of Albright Stonebridge Group discuss how concerns over economic competition and national security inform U.S. implementation of trade strategies like market protectionism and 'securitization.'

Amy Celico is a principal of Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategic advisory and commercial diplomacy firm, and leads the firm's China practice in Washington, D.C. She has more than 20 years of experience working on China issues. Previously, Ms. Celico served as senior director for China affairs at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. She also worked at the U.S. Departments of Commerce and State in Beijing and Shanghai, as well as the International Trade Administration and the Bureau of Intelligence and Research in Washington, D.C. Ms. Celico serves on the Board of Directors of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.

Advocating for the LGBTQ community takes different forms in the United States and China, with domestic politics and cultural norms influencing how organizations raise awareness and provide services in each country. One of the leading LGBTQ rights organizations in the United States is the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), whose director of global, Jay Gilliam, participated in the National Committee's Professional Fellows Program in 2018. Through this two-way exchange program for emerging NGO leaders, Mr. Gilliam spent two weeks at the Zhitong Guangzhou LGBT Center, where he learned about the organization and shared insights from his work at HRC. In this interview, he explains the differences between HRC and Zhitong's programming, how healthcare and LGBTQ issues intersect, and social attitudes toward the LGBTQ community in both countries.

Jay Gilliam is director of global at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), where he leads HRC's global work alongside advocates, organizations and movements around the world to advance LGBTQ equality everywhere. Prior to joining HRC, Jay served at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for nearly five years working in the Bureau of Policy, Planning and Learning, the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs, and in the Office of the Senior LGBT Coordinator. In these roles, he shared how the Agency does more effective work and maximizes its impact in the development space; led USAID communications and public engagement efforts on LGBT inclusive development work; and developed stories about the hard work done around the world to end extreme poverty.

The U.S.-China relationship is clearly undergoing a transformation: after 40 years of normalized diplomatic relations, the status quo no longer seems acceptable to either side. One of the largest shifts has been the emergence of strategic issues as a greater factor in bilateral interactions. Dr. Evan S. Medeiros of Georgetown University explains this 'securitization' of the relationship, how it affects trade and diplomacy, and whether it represents a long-term trend.

Evan S. Medeiros is the Penner Family Chair in Asian Studies at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. Until June 2015, Dr. Medeiros served as special assistant to President Barack Obama and senior director for Asian Affairs at the National Security Council (NSC), responsible for coordinating U.S. policy toward the Asia-Pacific across the areas of diplomacy, defense, economics, and intelligence affairs. He joined the NSC staff in summer 2009 as director for China, Taiwan, and Mongolian affairs and was actively involved in U.S.-China relations throughout his NSC tenure, including by developing the initial proposal for the Sunnyland's Summit, planning the president's 2014 summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and managing numerous other high-level U.S.-China interactions.

In recent years, Dr. Medeiros advised multinational companies on Asia in his role as managing director practice head for Asia at Eurasia Group, the global political risk consultancy. Prior to joining the White House, Dr. Medeiros also worked for seven years as a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. From 2007 to 2008, he also served as policy advisor to Secretary Hank Paulson working on the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue at the Treasury Department. Dr. Medeiros currently serves on the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations' Board of Directors and is a fellow in its Public Intellectuals Program.