Recent Events

At a National Committee public program on May 19, author Michael Meyer discussed living in one of Beijing's oldest hutongs, a traditional alleyway neighborhood which defined the city's layout for centuries. Mr. Meyer's first book, The Last Days of Old Beijing, chronicles the destruction of many of these neighborhoods as the city was redesigned for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Susan Shirk, professor of political science at the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, University of California, San Diego, discussed how the Internet and media are changing Chinese politics and vice versa during a National Committee program on April 25. Video of the program can be found below.

The National Committee co-hosted a program with the New York University School of Law featuring Ira Belkin, program officer for law and rights at the Ford Foundation in Beijing. Mr. Belkin discussed recent developments in China’s criminal justice system. The program was moderated by National Committee President Stephen Orlins and NYU School of Law Professor Jerome Cohen and took place on April 13 at NYU’s School of Law.

In early March, China’s central government proposed a defense budget for 2011 that increases military spending nearly 13 percent over 2010. As China expands and modernizes its armed forces, it holds an increasingly influential position in Asian-Pacific security. China has been a crucial player in the Six Party Talks on North Korea’s nuclear proliferation during […]

Some 130,000 students from China now study a variety of fields in colleges and universities around the United States. What about the first Chinese students in this country? In a lecture and discussion at the Luce Foundation offices in New York, Edward Rhoads shared stories and research from his new book Stepping Forth into the World: The Chinese Educational Mission to the United States, 1872-81, which examines the individual and collective histories of the first 120 Chinese students in the United States.

With the rise of tensions in Northeast Asia over the past few months, understanding the complex interactions among China, Japan and the two Koreas has become more important than ever, as has understanding the effect such tensions have on the United States and its interaction with these countries. The National Committee, in cooperation with the Japan Society, brought together three experts to provide insights into the current state of the regional security relationships: the Brookings Institution’s Richard Bush, the Eurasia Group’s Ian Bremmer, and Johns Hopkins University’s Kent Calder.

Chinese President Hu Jintao expressed confidence in the current U.S.-China relationship and optimism for future cooperation at a luncheon in Washington, DC, co-hosted by the National Committee and the US-China Business Council. The luncheon was held on January 20, 2011 at Marriott Wardman Park hotel, in cooperation with nine other organizations.

National Committee Director Edward Steinfeld discussed his new book, Playing Our Game: Why China’s Rise Doesn’t Threaten the West (Oxford University Press, 2010), at a Jones Day program on November 2, 2010. In the book, Steinfeld explores the monumental economic and political ramifications of China’s integration into global production. By examining how contemporary Chinese enterprises […]

His Excellency Wen Jiabao, Premier of People’s Republic of China, expressed optimism about the future of U.S.-China bilateral relations at a dinner co-hosted in his honor by the National Committee and the US-China Business Council. Held at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City, the dinner began with remarks by Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who both marveled at China’s rapid growth and stressed the importance of the bilateral relationship.

Ambassador Nicholas Platt discussed his new book China Boys: How U.S. Relations with the PRC Began and Grew, and the resumption of U.S.-China relations in the 1960s and 1970s at the offices of Jones Day in New York. The memoir chronicles the preparations and negotiations that went into Nixon’s 1972 trip; fourteen months later setting […]

Jeffrey Wasserstrom and Joseph Kahn discussed the challenges of writing about China from the perspectives of an academic and a journalist at Jones Day in New York. Dr. Wasserstrom is a professor of history at the University of California, Irvine, and Mr. Kahn is deputy foreign editor of The New York Times.

The National Committee hosted an evening of stories and reflection with Jerome Alan Cohen on Tuesday, April 20 in New York City. National Committee President Stephen A. Orlins interviewed his law school professor, mentor and friend as we celebrated Professor Cohen’s 80th birthday.