The US-China Podcast

Demonstrations that started peacefully in Hong Kong more than six months ago have grown increasingly confrontational. On December 10, Professor Jeffrey Wasserstrom of the University of California, Irvine, called in from Hong Kong to deliver his thoughts and observations from the ground to a National Committee teleconference. A long time analyst of protest in pre-1949 China and different parts of the PRC in recent decades, he traveled to Hong Kong in early December, after having last been there in early June when protests began, and shared his perspective on recent events and what he heard and learned from people who have been living through them.

Jeffrey Wasserstrom is Chancellor’s Professor of History at the University of California, Irvine, where he also holds courtesy appointments in Law and in Literary Journalism. He has just completed work on Vigil: Hong Kong on the Brink, a short book that will be published in February 2020 by Columbia Global Reports. His past books include China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know (co-authored by Maura Elizabeth Cunningham), the third edition of which came out from Oxford University Press in 2018, and Student Protests in Twentieth-Century China: The View from Shanghai (Stanford, 1991). A former member of the Board of Directors of the National Committee, he writes regularly for newspapers, magazines and scholarly journals.

In this podcast interview with NCUSCR President Stephen Orlins, Jude D. Blanchette discusses his new book China’s New Red Guards: The Return of Radicalism and the Rebirth of Mao Zedong. Mr. Blanchette shares his inspiration for choosing a topic not focused on in Western literature, and relates his personal experiences conducting research in China.

Mr. Blanchette surveys the potential for a resurgence of Neo-Maoism as an active movement, examines the role previously played by Bo Xilai, former Party-Secretary of Chongqing. Mr. Blanchette then transitions to a broader meditation on President Xi Jinping’s consolidation of power, of which Bo Xilai was an infamous casualty. While recognizing an increasingly constricted political and ideological environment, Mr. Blanchette emphasizes the continued survival of intellectual debate and diverse political thought within China.

On October 18, 2019, Jude Blanchette presented his book at a National Committee event in New York City. Join us at an upcoming event, or watch videos of past events: ncuscr.news/events

Jude D. Blanchette is the Freeman Chair of China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. He is also a senior advisor at Crumpton Group, a geo-political risk advisory in Arlington, VA. He serves as an adjunct fellow of the Asia-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, and is a National Committee on U.S.-China Relations Public Intellectuals Program fellow. Read Full Bio: ncuscr.news/jude

Admiral Philip Davidson provides an assessment of the U.S.-China relationship, highlighting the complexities, comparing the contradictions, and describing the conundrums facing the United States at a time during which it seems clearer than ever that security and economics are inextricably linked as bilateral competition grows. In this interview, conducted by National Committee President Stephen Orlins, Admiral Davidson draws on his experience at the helm of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command to delve deeper into the issues currently testing the U.S.-China relationship.

On October 2, 2019, Admiral Davidson presented his views at a National Committee event in New York City. Join us at an upcoming event: ncuscr.news/events

Admiral Philip S. Davidson is a 1982 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval War College with a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies, and a bachelor’s degree in physics. He is the 25th commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (formerly the U.S. Pacific Command), America's oldest and largest military combatant command, located in Hawaii. Read Full Bio: ncuscr.news/admpsd

In this podcast interview with NCUSCR President Stephen Orlins, Ambassador Winston Lord discusses his new book Kissinger on Kissinger: Reflections on Diplomacy, Grand Strategy, and Leadership. Ambassador Lord talks about what it was like to work with Dr. Kissinger, his memories of Nixon's visit to China, and what lessons from his and Dr. Kissinger's experiences can be applied to today's competitive relationship with China.

Winston Lord has had a long and varied career in and out of government, serving as special assistant to the national security advisor (1970-73) and director of the State Department policy planning staff under President Nixon (1973-77), ambassador to China for Presidents Reagan and the first President Bush (1985-89), and assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs under President Clinton (1993-97). Earlier in his career he held many positions in the State Department as a foreign service officer, and served on the policy planning staff of the Defense Department. Between government postings Ambassador Lord was a board member of many non-partisan, non-government organizations related to global issues. These include his service as president of the Council on Foreign Relations, co-chair of the International Rescue Committee, chair of the National Endowment for Democracy, and chair of the Carnegie Endowment National Commission on America and the New World. He is a member and former director of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.

Ambassador Lord earned a B.A. from Yale (magna cum laude) and an M.A. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (first in his class). He has received several honorary degrees, the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award, and the Defense Department’s Outstanding Performance Award. Ambassador Lord has appeared on all major U.S. media networks, and his writings include articles in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Time, Newsweek, and Foreign Affairs.

In this interview with NCUSCR President Stephen Orlins, founder and CEO of 52 Capital Partners David P. Willard discusses how his work in mergers and acquisitions is affected by macroeconomic policies in the United States and China and gives his perspective on where the economic relationship between the two countries is heading. Mr. Willard spoke at a National Committee event on April 25, 2019. Learn more: https://www.ncuscr.org/event/future-us-china-economic-relations

David P. Willard is the founder, chief executive officer & managing partner of 52 Capital Partners, LLC., responsible for all major aspects of the firm’s executive management, strategy, client development, investment process and thought leadership. Throughout his career, Mr. Willard has executed and participated in major M&A transactions and other corporate matters at firms in the United States, Europe, and Asia, including Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, closing 53 transactions totaling over $150 billion in aggregate value.

A recognized expert on China, Mr. Willard speaks regularly on U.S.-China mergers and acquisitions, as well as other investment topics. He received his B.A. in East Asian Studies from Princeton, and his J.D. from the New York University School of Law. Mr. Willard is a member of the National Committee on United States-China Relations.

In this interview with NCUSCR President Stephen Orlins, Dr. Weijian Shan discusses his new autobiography, Out of the Gobi, about his experience during the Cultural Revolution as a manual laborer in the Gobi Desert. He explains what prompted him to write the book and why learning about the Cultural Revolution is essential to understanding China. 

Dr. Shan gave a talk to the National Committee about his book on January 28. Learn more: https://www.ncuscr.org/event/out-gobi

Dr. Weijian Shan is chairman and CEO of PAG, one of the largest private equity firms in Asia. Before joining PAG, he was a partner of TPG, a private equity firm based in San Francisco, and co-managing partner of TPG Asia (formerly known as Newbridge Capital). At TPG, Dr. Shan led a number of landmark transactions including the acquisitions of Korea First Bank and China’s Shenzhen Development Bank, both of which made his investors billions of dollars in profits and were made into case studies of Harvard Business School. Previously, Dr. Shan was a managing director of JP Morgan, a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and laborer in Inner Mongolia.

Despite not attending secondary school, Dr. Shan received an M.A. and Ph.D., both in economics, from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.B.A. from the Univer­sity of San Francisco. He studied English at the Beijing Institute of Foreign Trade (now the Beijing University of International Business and Economics), where he also taught.

Barbara Finamore, author of the new book Will China Save the Planet?, talks to Jan Berris, National Commitee Vice President, about China's path to becoming a responsible stakeholder on environmental issues.

In this interview, Professor Rongbin Han discusses his new book, Contesting Cyberspace in China, with Senior Director for Education Programs Margot Landman. He talks about his experiences a university student in China at the dawn of the Internet, the Internet's relation to democracy as well as illiberal discourse, and the role of the "50-Cent Army" on Chinese social media. 

In this interview, Benjamin Shobert discusses his new book Blaming China: It Might Feel Good but it Won't Fix America's Economy with National Committee President Stephen Orlins. He talks about the changes in the U.S. political atmosphere that inspired him to write the book, and where he sees the bilateral relationship heading.