With the United States and China accounting for 40 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, avoiding the worst consequences of climate change will require concerted action by both countries. In the first program of a new series on Sino-American cooperation on climate change and the environment, the National Committee held a virtual discussion with Public Intellectuals Program fellows Angel Hsu, Jonas Nahm, and Alex Wang, moderated by China energy expert Joanna
Lewis, on April 22, 2021.
The program was conducted in partnership with the Penn Project on the Future of US-China Relations, which is sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the Study of Contemporary China.
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At this critical juncture in the U.S.-China relationship, the National Committee's Annual Members Program will feature an in-depth discussion with Thomas Donilon, former National Security Advisor to President Barack Obama. Mr. Donilon will reflect on emerging challenges and opportunities, the Biden administration's evolving China policy, and what we might expect from the Chinese government in response. National Committee Chair Jacob J. Lew will introduce the program and President Stephen Orlins will moderate.
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Please continue to check our website for more information about upcoming programs.
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The Geopolitics of Climate Change
The United States and China have pledged to cooperate against climate change. But will policymakers, scientists, and global partners be able to avert climate catastrophe? Environmental policy expert Deborah Seligsohn (Villanova University) explains how competition between the two countries can be leveraged as a positive force to deliver the best environmental outcomes.
Watch the 8-minute interview | Listen to the podcast
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How You Can Respond to Anti-Asian Racism
Stop AAPI Hate Co-Founder Russell Jeung shares four steps you can use to respond to anti-Asian rhetoric and hate crimes by intervening in and reporting incidents, showing up for Asian American neighborhoods, and normalizing a culture of respect in your community.
Watch the 4-minute interview | Visit our anti-racism resources page
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China’s Debt Deleveraging and State-Owned Enterprises
Economist Leland Miller, co-founder and CEO of China Beige Book International, explains what a long-term growth in debt and short-term shift to deleveraging could mean for state-owned enterprises and China’s economy as a whole.
Watch the 5-minute clip | Watch the full program
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Interracial Solidarity in the Wake of “Stop AAPI Hate” Movements [Chinese Subtitled]
Ian Shin, assistant professor of history and American culture at the University of Michigan, discusses collaborations between communities of color in the wake of the recent “Stop AAPI Hate” movements. He draws on historic examples of interracial solidarity, including the work of civil rights activists Yuri Kochiyama and Grace Lee Boggs in the black freedom struggle, and Larry Itliong who partnered with Cesar Chavez and formed the United Farm Workers union.
Watch the 3-minute clip on iQiyi | Follow us on iQiyi
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In a new report, The United States, China, and Taiwan: A Strategy to Prevent War, Ambassador Robert Blackwill (Council on Foreign Relations) and Professor Philip Zelikow (University of Virginia) present their prescription for a U.S. policy toward Taiwan that would sustain the political balance that has preserved peace in cross-Strait relations for the last fifty years. They warn that Taiwan may become a global flashpoint, and propose that the United States should
promote Taiwan’s autonomy and dynamism as a free society, rather than alter the U.S. policy approach at the risk of further escalating tensions with China. They joined the National Committee for a conversation on the report's key findings, moderated by leading Taiwan authority Shelley Rigger (Davidson College), on April 30, 2021.
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In 1971, an American and a Chinese ping pong player exchanged gifts following a chance encounter during a competition in Japan. After this unlikely interaction, the U.S. national table tennis team was invited to China and became the first American group to visit the country in decades. While there, the U.S. Table Tennis Association extended an invitation for a Chinese team to visit the United States as guests of the USTTA and the National Committee; thus “Ping Pong Diplomacy” was born.
On April 28, 2021, the National Committee hosted a virtual 50th anniversary celebration and discussion of this historic exchange, featuring NCUSCR Vice President Jan Berris, who worked on the visit and accompanied the Chinese ping pong delegation on its travels; Judy Hoarfrost, a former United States table tennis champion who was the youngest member of the U.S. team that went to China and who also traveled with the team in the United States; and Doug Spelman, a retired foreign service officer and academic who served as an interpreter for the Chinese team. The conversation was moderated by Alex DeAngelis, a staff member at the Committee on Scholarly Communication with the People’s Republic of China for much of the 1970s, who then moved to the National Science Foundation, based in Washington and
Beijing.
Event video | Event podcast
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While violence toward Asian Americans has long existed in the United States, the community has faced racist violence and hate crimes at a much higher rate over the last year. Between March 2020 and February 2021, Stop AAPI Hate reported 3,795 hate incidents nationwide. Experts argue this phenomenon has been fueled by Sinophobia, anti-China foreign policy, and xenophobic political rhetoric unleashed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
On April 12, 2021, the National Committee held a virtual two-part program in which Jessica J. Lee and Ian Shin discussed the impact of anti-China political rhetoric on the current domestic U.S. climate, and Congresswoman Judy Chu addressed anti-Asian racism through legislative change.
Event video | Event podcast | Key Takeaways
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During its Two Sessions held in early March 2021, the National People’s Congress passed a resolution that would change the electoral system for Hong Kong’s Legislative Council and the Chief Executive, to ensure that only “patriots” could serve, and to block “foreign interference.” The new measure builds on the National Security Law that went into force on June 30, 2020. What are the implications for the rule of law in Hong Kong, as well as for Hong Kong-Mainland, U.S.-Hong Kong, and U.S.-China relations?
The National Committee conducted a virtual program on April 8, 2021, with Hualing Fu, dean and professor of law at the University of Hong Kong, who reflected on the significance of recent policy changes in Beijing regarding Hong Kong.
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Top U.S. trade and transatlantic experts Claire Reade (Center for Strategic & International Studies; former assistant USTR for China Affairs) and Theresa Fallon (Centre for Russia Europe Asia Studies) joined the National Committee for a closed-door briefing for Members of Congress on the EU-PRC Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI). The experts assessed CAI’s geopolitical implications, especially for the United States, contextualized CAI within China’s evolving trade and investment strategies and deals, and offered up corresponding policy options to advance and protect U.S.
interests.
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Interview: Jan Berris on Ping Pong Diplomacy
National Committee Vice President Jan Berris, who joined the organization in 1971 specifically to work on the visit of the Chinese Ping Pong Team to the United States, participated in two events in China this April, one in Shanghai and the other in Beijing, that celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Ping Pong Diplomacy. A 15-minute excerpt of her hour-long Shanghai interview can be found here and the transcript here.
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Join our team! The National Committee on U.S.-China Relations is currently recruiting for a development assistant. Learn more and apply here.
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