U.S.-China & the World is an interview series investigating how the U.S.-China relationship impacts societies, economies, and policies around the globe. Through short interviews with local experts, this series takes a closer look at the countries and regions affected by and navigating through U.S.-China tensions—and ultimately, how the United States and China together can build a better future for the international community. 

The countries of Southeast Asia represent a large diversity of diplomatic stances, tactics, and goals on the global political stage. What can the United States and China do to further the interests of Southeast Asian nations? From the South China Seas to trade and climate, China and the United States must take into consideration Southeast Asia’s regional interests. Selina Ho joined the National Committee on April 1, 2023, to discuss Southeast Asia’s social and political dynamics within the great context of the U.S.-China relationship.

Check out this National Committee program with Dr. Ho’s co-author David Lampton on their book Rivers of Iron: Railroads and Chinese Power in Southeast Asia.

Speaker

Selina Ho

Selina Ho is Assistant Professor in International Affairs and Co-Director of the Centre on Asia and Globalisation, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. She researches Chinese politics and foreign policy. Specifically, she is interested in how China wields power and influence via infrastructure and water disputes in Southeast Asia and South Asia. Her work stands at the intersection of comparative politics and international relations. Selina is the author of Thirsty Cities: Social Contracts and Public Goods Provision in China and India (Cambridge University Press, 2019), co-author (with David M. Lampton and Cheng-Chwee Kuik) of Rivers of Iron: Railroads and Chinese Power in Southeast Asia (University of California Press, 2020), and co-editor (with Kanti Bajpai and Manjari Chatterjee Miller) of The Routledge Handbook of China-India Relations (2020). She has published widely in peer-reviewed journals, including International Affairs, Chinese Journal of International Politics, Journal of Contemporary China, among others. Selina is the editor (with Kanti Bajpai) of Amsterdam University Press’s “Politics and International Relations in Asia” book series. She welcomes book proposals submissions to: https://www.aup.nl/en/series/politics-and-international-relations-in-asia