Public Talks

Counter-Histories in China
March 19, 2024 | Video
Newspaper headlines describe a China that is uniformly bleak: a slowing economy, tensions with the West, and a surveillance state that seems to have crushed all opposing voices. But in his new book, "Sparks: China's Underground Historians and Their Battle for the Future," Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Ian Johnson presents a more nuanced picture of Xi Jinping's China, one where a vibrant movement of underground filmmakers, magazine publishers and authors challenge the Communist Party on its most important source of legitimacy: its control of history. In this book talk, Ian Johnson introduced us to China's counter-history movement, which echoes struggles in many societies for a more equitable and just accounting of the past.

On the Edge: Feeling Precarious in China
March 13, 2024 | Video
Margaret Hillenbrand, professor at Oxford University, suggests that evictions in China provoke questions about the limits of inequality, exclusion and insecure work as meaningful descriptors of social conditions in our times. In this talk, Hillenbrand explores the logic of expulsion in contemporary China, its capacity to foment both solidarity and social strife, and its relationship with cultural forms. In particular, she looks at how people living under precarity in China today use culture as a space to vent feelings of rage, resentment, distrust and disdain that are taboo under the diktats of so-called harmonious society.

Wuhan: How the COVID-19 Outbreak in China Spiraled Out of Control
Feb. 29, 2024
The COVID-19 pandemic, which began as an outbreak in Wuhan in late 2019, has claimed millions of lives and caused unprecedented disruptions. In his new book "Wuhan: How the COVID-19 Outbreak in China Spiraled Out of Control," Dali L. Yang of the University of Chicago scrutinizes China's emergency response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, delving into the government's handling of epidemic information and the decisions that influenced the scale and scope of the outbreak.

Changing Image of the U.S. in China in an Era of Strategic Competition
Feb. 22, 2024 | Video
In years past, most Chinese citizens’ views of the U.S. were largely positive despite ideological differences between the two countries. Relations were seen as beneficial to both countries, and most people in China appreciated U.S. culture and products. However, relations between the two countries have deteriorated drastically in recent years, with the trade war and other arenas heightening tensions. How do Chinese citizens view the U.S. today? What’s the implication for the future of U.S.-China relations? In this talk, Professor Wei Da of Tsinghua University drew on his research to help answer these questions and more.

The Ideological Foundations of Imperial Taxation Under Qing
Feb. 15, 2024 | Video
Increasingly, scholars believe that China’s relative economic decline in the 18th and 19th centuries was related to its weak fiscal institutions and limited revenue. Taisu Zhang argues in this talk that the fiscal weakness was fundamentally ideological in nature. A confluence of traditional political ethics and the trauma of dynastic change created belief systems that imposed unusually deep and powerful constraints on fiscal policymaking and institutions throughout the final 250 years of China’s imperial history, leading to the Qing empire’s decline.

Field Notes on the Taiwan Election
Jan. 18, 2024 | Video
January 13, 2024: Taiwan’s general election. Who gains and who loses? What’s on the minds of Taiwan voters? How does the election bode for Taiwan’s relationship with mainland China, countries in the region, and the U.S.? Professor Thomas Gold from UC Berkeley and Professor Nathan Batto from Academia Sinica addressed these questions and more, drawing on Gold’s just-completed election observation tour and Batto’s long-running experience in Taiwan studying the Legislative Yuan.

China in Africa: New Relational Power
Nov. 30, 2023 | Video
Using a Chinese conceptualization of social capital, informal interviews and two decades of official data, professor Joshua Eisenman explained how and why the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is building relationships with African political elites.

Lobbying Autocrats: Policy Advocacy in Nondemocracies
Nov. 2, 2023 | Video
Although autocracies often repress independent citizen activity, lobbying by civil society organizations is widespread. Using case studies in China, Russia and Malaysia, Jessica Teets’ edited volume "Lobbying the Autocrat" shows how citizen advocacy organizations mitigate changing levels of political repression and build resilience through "tactful contention" strategies. Thus, within the bounds set by authoritarian regimes, adaptive lobbying may still bring about localized responsiveness and representation.

Face to Face with Pipa Virtuoso Wu Man
Oct. 24, 2023
Wu Man, the world-renowned pipa virtuoso, brought her knowledge and compositions to the stage for this unique concert and conversation.

China Town Hall
Oct. 11, 2023 | Video
China Town Hall fosters a national conversation on China, with this year’s event featuring U.S. Ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, in a telecast, followed by a talk by our own professor Michael Davidson in person.

Sovereign Funds: How the Chinese Communist Party Finances Its Ambitions
Oct. 5, 2023 | Video
Zoe Liu discussed how sovereign funds have supported China’s industrial policies by financing the state’s procurement of strategic overseas assets, bankrolling Chinese enterprises’ mergers and acquisitions abroad, and sponsoring the development of indigenous Chinese technology startups.

Trade and Diplomacy in Mao’s China
Sept. 28, 2023 | Video
We joined Jason M. Kelly, senior lecturer in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Cardiff University, as he discussed how China’s early diplomacy and trade shaped its rise.

U.S. Presidential Transitions and the China Policy
July 27, 2023 | Video
This year’s Susan Shirk Lecture on U.S.-China Relations welcomed Stephen Hadley, former national security advisor to George W. Bush, and Susan Shirk, founding chair of the 21st Century China Center, in a conversation about presidential transitions and U.S.-China policy. The conversation focused on the China policy transition from George W. Bush to Barack Obama and also touched on policymaking at the highest level in the U.S. and in U.S.-China relations today.

War and Peace in the Taiwan Strait
May 18, 2023 | Video
Scott Kastner’s talk provided insight into one of the key geopolitical hotspots of our time, with policy suggestions for how actors in Beijing, Taipei and Washington could mitigate the risks of war in the Taiwan Strait.

Great Power Competition and the Risk of War in the Taiwan Strait
May 11, 2023 | Video
James Lee from Academica Sinica in Taiwan analyzed the complex and contradictory ways of seeing Taiwan, which underlie the potential for conflict across the Taiwan Strait.

China's Path to Global Influence
April 20, 2023 | Video
In this talk, Richard Carney explored how China is acquiring global influence through infrastructure spending and technology exports.

Modern Asia from Development to Democracy
April 12, 2023
Dan Slater and Joseph Wong discussed why some Asian countries became more democratic as they grew, while others — like China — didn't.

Assignment China: U.S. Reporters in the PRC
April 6, 2023 | Video
In this talk, former CNN Beijing Bureau Chief Mike Chinoy told the story of American journalists who covered China in their own words.

The Rise of the Chinese Techno-Security State
March 9, 2023 | Video
UC San Diego professor Tai Ming Cheung spoke on China's rise as a techno-security superpower and its implication for the global order.

Xi Jinping on the Global Stage
March 2, 2023 | Video
Professor Suisheng Zhao spoke on Xi Jinping’s power concentration and implications for Chinese foreign policy.

Divergent Trajectories of China’s Email-Order Brides
Feb. 23, 2023 | Video
This talk by Monica Liu from the University of St. Thomas examines how inequalities brought on by China’s transition shapes some women’s desires to seek out migration via marriage.

The Wuhan Lockdown
Feb. 16, 2023 | Video
This talk by Guobin Yang from University of Pennsylvania told the dramatic story of the Wuhan lockdown in the voices of the city’s own people. 

Can We Decouple and Decarbonize?
Feb. 7, 2023 | Video
In this talk, Jonas Nahm from Johns Hopkins SAIS examined the causes and effects of clean energy’s global division of labor after attempts to decouple from China.

Paul G. Pickowicz Endowed Chair Lecture – The Burden of Conservation: Water, Soil and History in Modern China
Feb. 2, 2023 | Notes (PDF)
Micah Muscolino, UC San Diego history professor and Paul G. Pickowicz Endowed Chair in Modern Chinese History, discussed how conservation campaigns intensified social inequality in China before reform and opening.

Seeking Truth and Hiding Facts in China
Jan. 26, 2023 | Video
This talk by Jeremy Wallace from Cornell examined China’s single-minded approach to growth and whether they will change their focus on gross domestic product (GDP) alone.

Beethoven in Beijing – A Film Screening with Jennifer Lin, moderated by Lei Liang
Jan. 19, 2023
This talk and movie screening by Jennifer Lin explored the impact of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s historic 1973 China tour.

CHINA Town Hall 2022
Nov. 16, 2022 | Video
We learned how U.S.-China Relations affect our local communities. Former Ambassador Jon Huntsman shared insights based on his experience as a diplomat to China, and our own Richard Madsen delved deeper into the increasingly discordant narratives surrounding the American Dream and the China Dream.

So Kwan Lok Distinguished Lecture: Are China’s Universities the Future?
Nov. 15, 2022 | Video
Will China’s educational model pull ahead of America’s universities? We joined William Kirby from Harvard University for a discussion of the rise of Chinese universities at the 2022 So Kwan Lok Distinguished Lecture.

Why Yan’an? Origins of China's Communist Revolution
Nov. 3, 2022 | Video
How did the CCP succeed and Mao rise? Joseph Esherick discussed this and more from his new book “Accidental Holy Land: The Communist Revolution in Northwest China.”

Perverse Incentives and Air Pollution Regulation in China
Oct. 20, 2022 | Video
How is China working to fight air pollution and stem environmental problems? Stanford’s Shiran Victoria Shen shared insights from her new book to talk about environmental regulation’s successes and failures in China.

Outsourcing Repression and State Power in China
Oct. 13, 2022 | Video
Lynette H. Ong from the University of Toronto examined how the Chinese state uses agents from violent thugs to grassroots brokers to coerce and mobilize the masses.

Susan Shirk on How China’s Actions Derailed its Peaceful Rise
Oct. 6, 2022 | Video
For decades, China's rise to power was characterized by its reassurance that this rise would be peaceful. When Xi Jinping took power, something changed. In this talk, Susan Shirk revealed the dynamics driving China’s recent overreach. To counter it, she argues, the worst mistake the U.S. can make is to overreact.

The Party Remakes China: What to Watch for After the 20th Party Congress
Sept. 29, 2022 | Video | Report
A panel of experts discussed key developments in Chinese elite politics. Who will ascend to the Politburo? How will it matter? They also shared key findings from a new report produced by the 21st Century China Center.

China’s Shifting Economy and Politics: Impact on U.S.-China Relations
July 29, 2022 | Video
Kevin Rudd discussed new developments in China’s political economy, including the impending 20th Party Congress and some of the challenges President Xi Jinping is facing due to economic difficulties, and examine their impact on U.S.-China relations moving forward. A reception and a book signing by Kevin Rudd of his newly published book, “The Avoidable War” was held immediately following the lecture on the terrace.

Low-Carbon Transition Challenges of Chinese SOEs
June 2, 2022 | Video
Based on his new working paper on China's SOE transition pathways, Michael Davidson from UC San Diego discussed the finances, assets and employment structure of coal businesses in major SOEs and identified pain points that will be faced as they engage in more detailed low-carbon transition planning.

Missionary Cameras and Modern China in Global Imaginations
May 26, 2022 | Video
UC San Diego alum Joseph W. Ho from Albion College shared stories from his new book “Developing Mission,” which offers a transnational cultural history of U.S. and Chinese communities framed by missionary lenses through time and space – tracing the lives and afterlives of images, cameras and visual imaginations in modern China.

An Alternative World Order
May 19, 2022 | Video
Dawn Murphy from the U.S. Air War College presented findings from her new book in which she compares and analyzes 30 years of China’s interactions with the Middle East and Africa regions across a range of functional areas, including politics, economics, foreign aid and the military.

Sounds and Images: Rediscovering Chinese Art via Music
May 17, 2022 | Photos
Lei Liang presented his work on Chinese landscape paintings at Qualcomm Institute, followed by a lecture by ethnomusicologist Joseph Lam from the University of Michigan.

Coalitions of the Weak
May 5, 2022 | Video
Victor Shih discussed his new book, which investigates how leaders of one-party autocracies seek to dominate the elite and achieve true dictatorship, governing without fear of internal challenge or resistance to major policy changes.

The Rise and Fall of Imperial China
May 4, 2022 | Video
China was once the world’s leading superpower for almost two millennia, falling behind only in the last two centuries and now rising to dominance again. What factors led to imperial China’s decline? Yuhua Wang discussed his new book “The Rise and Fall of Imperial China,” which offers a systematic look at the Chinese state from the seventh century through to the 20th.

Chinese Soft Power Around the World
April 28, 2022 | Video
Maria Repnikova from Georgia State University examined China’s complex and often contradictory deployment of soft power performance. She dissected various projects and once ambitious Chinese initiatives yet perceived with mixed credibility. Through numerous examples, she illustrated the ambitious and adaptive initiatives and examine the reactions and contestations they elicit.

Pathways to Globalization in China, India and Russia
April 21, 2022 | Video
Based on her new book, Roselyn Hsueh from Temple University demonstrated how sectoral organizations in China, Russia and India help explain differences in market coordination and property rights arrangements in the three countries.

Public Scrutiny and Environmental Governance in China
April 14, 2022
Iza Ding from University of Pittsburgh examined how street-level bureaucrats in China use “performative governance” to impress a skeptical society. Based on ethnographic research alongside wide-ranging surveys, she also explained why performative governance sometimes fails, and what makes governance become less performative and more substantive.

Rebalancing Amid COVID, Regulations and Climate Goals
April 7, 2022 | Video
We joined our faculty and authors of the 2021 International Monetary Fund (IMF) China Staff report for a deep dive into China’s economic moves in 2021 and what they mean going forward.

Beijing's Influence in the U.S.
March 31, 2022 | Video
We joined Isaac Stone Fish, CEO of Strategy Risks and a contributing columnist to The Washington Post, as he discussed the negative aspects of Beijing's influence in the U.S. and how to fight back without being McCarthyist or encouraging racism.

Counterproductive Tech War: Why State-Business Relations Matter in China and the U.S.
March 24, 2022 | Video
Ling Chen from Johns Hopkins University discussed the changing dynamics of state-business alliances in the context of the U.S.-China tech war, explaining how the weaponization of the technology supply chains reshaped the interests of the state and businesses in the two countries, alienating them from one another in the U.S. and aligning them in China.

Retrofitting Leninism: Participation without Democracy in Modern China
March 17, 2022 | Video
Dimitar Gueorguiev from Syracuse University presented findings from his new book, discussing how China integrated participatory elements into its governing system while maintaining authoritarian rule.

Russia Invades Ukraine: The Curiouser and Curiouser Case of China
March 14, 2022 | Video
Putin has faced worldwide condemnation since he launched his full-scale war in Ukraine. But China appears to have acquiesced to the Russian action and even expressed sympathy for some of Putin’s claims. Why is China taking this stance, arguably at odds with its own long-standing foreign policy principles, and how far will China go in supporting Russia in the face of widening sanctions? Experts from the School of Global Policy and Strategy discuss whether the war in Ukraine will catalyze a permanent geopolitical and military alignment between Russia and China, as well as how China’s stance on Ukraine will impact its relationship with the U.S.

Finding Truth Under the National Security Law - A Journalistic Perspective
March 3, 2022
Award-winning journalist James Pomfret discussed his work in Hong Kong before and after the implementation of the National Security Law. Through a lively conversation with Jeffrey Wasserstrom, the author of “Vigil: Hong Kong on the Brink”. This event invites the audience to explore the nature and practice of news reporting in Hong Kong and is hosted by the Global Hong Kong Studies at University of California and cosponsored by the 21st Century China Center.

Science, Technology and Higher Education in China’s Belt & Road Initiative
Feb. 24, 2022 | Video
Denis Simon from Duke University highlighted this new face of the BRI initiative and discuss some of the broader implications for China and the West in economic, political and technological terms.

Foundations for a Low-Carbon Energy System in China
Feb. 17, 2022 | Video
Michael Davidson from UC San Diego and Wei Peng from Penn State University, two co-authors of “Foundations for a Low-Carbon Energy System in China,” discussed the main challenges–and key options–lying ahead for Chinese policymakers in the electricity and coal sectors.

Digital Currency in China and the Asia Pacific Conference
Feb. 14, 2022 | Information
This two-part session of the conference consisted of a keynote speech and expert panel. The keynote speech by Chinese Central Banker MU Changchun covered new experiments by the People’s Bank of China in digital currency like the e-CNY. It will be followed by a panel of private sector and academic experts discussing private sector developments in digital currencies in the Asia-Pacific region.

When National Identity Meets Conspiracy: COVID-19 Conspiracies on Weibo
Feb. 11, 2022 | Video
Kaiping Chen from University of Wisconsin-Madison shared her work on how the use of identity language affects the diffusion and the discourse of COVID-19 conspiracy and counternarratives on Weibo.

Anxious China: Inner Revolution and the Politics of Psychotherapy
Feb. 3, 2022 | Video
Li Zhang from UC Davis examined how an unfolding “inner revolution” is reconfiguring selfhood, psyche, family dynamics, sociality and the mode of urban governing in post-socialist China.

Chinese Capital Goes Global: The Belt and Road Initiative and Beyond
Jan. 27, 2022 | Video
Weiyi Shi and Min Ye, co-editors of "Chinese Capital Goes Global: The Belt and Road Initiative and Beyond," a special issue of The Journal of East Asian Studies, lead a roundtable discussion that addressed geopolitical controversies that have dominated the BRI.

The Economic Effects of Joining China’s Belt and Road Initiative
Jan. 20, 2022 | Video
Taylor Fravel from Massachusetts Institute of Technology examined the effects of joining China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on participating states. The goal is to analyze economic pathways through which the BRI can serve as a tool for Chinese influence in the world, including through foreign direct investment, exports, development finance, contract funding, and debt forgiveness.

The Twists and Turns of the DOJ’s China Initiative
Jan. 13, 2022 | Video
Journalists Eileen Guo and Jess Aloe alongside lawyer Nelson Dong discussed findings from Guo and Aloe’s recent article detailing how the China Initiative shifted from focusing on economic espionage to procedural research issues, largely targeting ethnic Chinese researchers in the process.

Civil Society as Social Entrepreneurs: Strategic Rebranding or Evolution?
Dec. 9, 2021 | Video
Jessica Teets from Middlebury College discussed how Chinese NGOs are pursuing new, more entrepreneurial organizational forms in response to fiscal and legal challenges.

Necessary Fictions: The State, Stock Markets and Growth in East Asia
Dec. 2, 2021 | Video
John Yasuda from Johns Hopkins University considered the ideological politics of regulation, focusing on why East Asia’s stock markets, particularly mainland China’s, have failed to thrive.

China’s Good War: How Memory of World War II is Shaping a New Nationalism
Nov. 10, 2021 | Video
Rana Mitter from Oxford University examined the ways in which public narratives of World War II enhance contemporary Chinese nationalism and China's newfound confidence abroad.

The Counter-Narrative Strategies of Chinese State Media on Twitter
Nov. 3, 2021 | Video
Jennifer Pan from Stanford University explained how Chinese media outlets use social media to shape global public opinion.

A Border in the "Endless Frontier": U.S.-China Scientific Exchange
Oct. 28, 2021 | Video
Yangyang Cheng, postdoctoral fellow at Yale Law School, discussed the crucial role scientific exchange has played in U.S.-China relations historically and its continuing importance today.

CHINA Town Hall - Featuring national speaker Fareed Zakaria of CNN and local speaker Michael Davidson of UC San Diego
Oct. 19, 2021 | Video (Davidson) | Video (Zakaria)
CNN’s Fareed Zakaria spoke on the domestic importance of the U.S.-China relationship, with our very own Michael Davidson who addressed the question of how U.S.-China relations will make or break climate change.

Global China: Xinjiang in Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative
Oct. 7, 2021 | Video
Dru Gladney examined the rise of the important role Xinjiang plays in Chinese Premier Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative. He also outlined how the Region is pivotal to current Sino-U.S. relations and outline the recent tragic events involving the Uyghur in China’s Northwest Region.

Change and Continuity in China's Nationality Policy: The Case of Tibet
June 17, 2021 | Video
Starting in 2011, in response to massive disturbances in Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, a number of prominent Chinese scholars and thinkers started proposing reforms to the Nationalities Policies that had been the bedrock of the PRC's rule over the non-Chinese minority groups since 1949. Since 2014, the Chinese government has embarked upon a series of moves in the above-mentioned regions designed to weaken ethnic consciousness and strengthen 'Chinese identity' and 'national unity'. Tsering Topgyal's presentation took stock of what has changed and what remains of the Nationalities Policies and consider the political fallout through the case of the Tibet issue.

China's Civilian Army: The Making of Wolf Warrior Diplomacy
June 10, 2021 | Video
Peter Martin of Bloomberg debuted his new book which charts China's transformation from an isolated and impoverished communist state to a global superpower from the perspective of those on the front line: China's diplomats.

Trade, Talent and the Internet: Emerging Voices in U.S.-China Relations
June 3, 2021 | Video
Four prize winners in the 2021 China Focus Essay Contest shared the stage to discuss their winning essays on topics ranging from the future of the internet and international trading system to the importance of immigration and talent for the U.S. and China. Read their essays on chinafocus.ucsd.edu and watch our discussion with these young thinkers on U.S.-China relations.

Is U.S.-China Climate Action Possible in an Era of Mistrust?
May 27, 2021 | Video
The world can't meet the challenge of climate change without aggressive action from both China and the United States, the world’s two largest emitters of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Yet, with U.S.-China relations at the lowest point in decades, competition rather than cooperation increasingly defines the relationship. What are the prospects for U.S.-China climate action? What is the likely role of collaboration or coordination? Will competition be constructive or destructive? Watch our discussion with Professor Alex Wang of UCLA on possible pathways forward for climate action and carbon neutrality in light of recent U.S. and Chinese announcements. This webinar was moderated by GPS Professor Michael Davidson.

Sharp Elbows: Competition in China’s Internet and Investor Implications
May 20, 2021 | Video
Rick Carew, visiting lecturer at the University of Virginia and former veteran Wall Street Journal reporter, discussed the state of competition in China’s internet sector and its implications for investors and innovation in the years ahead.

Christianity Under China’s Religion Policy
May 19, 2021 | Video
Starting in 1992, Richard Madsen undertook pathbreaking fieldwork among Catholics in China's northern villages and in the city of Tianjin. How have Catholic and Protestant communities weathered the enormous changes since, the ups and downs of Chinese society and politics over the past three decades? In this talk, Madsen discussed the complex path of diverse Christian communities and their current circumstances under under Xi Jinping’s “sinicization of religion” policies. The talk will be moderated by Barry Naughton.

The Fall and Rise of U.S.-China Policy Uncertainty
May 13, 2021 | Video
Kyle Handley discussed his research and those by others about the reduction in trade policy uncertainty from the 1990s to 2000s before and after China joined the WTO in late 2001.

My Old Home: A Novel of Exile
May 6, 2021 | Video
In his debut novel “My Old Home: A Novel of Exile”, Orville Schell of the Asia Society delves into the complexities of people whose lives have been historically upended by the tumult of political change, the pain of migration, and the separations of the Cold War.

A Third Way: The Origins of China’s Economic Strategy
April 29, 2021 | Video
Lawrence C. Reardon meticulously traces the evolution of the coastal development strategy, starting with special economic zones in 1979 and evolving into the fourteen open coastal cities, the Hainan SEZ, and eventual accession to the global trade regime in 2001.

Remains of the Everyday: A Century of Recycling in Beijing
April 15, 2021 | Video
Joshua Goldstein of USC presented his new book looking at the history of the recycling industry in China. “Remains of the Everyday” traces the changing material culture and industrial ecology of China through the lens of recycling.

Chinese Antitrust Exceptionalism
April 8, 2021 | Video
Angela Huyue Zhang examined the most important and least understood tactic that China can deploy to counter western sanctions: antitrust law.

What's the word on the street? Unpacking Kenyan street-level discourses on China
March 25, 2021 | Video
Anita Plummer discussed how in recent decades, Kenya has witnessed profound changes in its local economic, cultural and environmental landscapes resulting from its interactions with diverse actors from China.

Race and Global China: Sino-Black Relations
March 18, 2021 | Video | Presentation
Keisha Brown addressed the role of race in U.S.-China relations through the lens of Sino-Black relations.

Weaponization of Intellectual Property Against China
Feb. 25, 2021 | Video
Mark Cohen discussed the weaponization of IP with China under Trump, and how it poses risks and opportunities to the Biden administration.

Toward a U.S.-China Trade Policy That Maximizes American Employment
Feb. 11, 2021 | Video | Transcript
Craig Allen, president of the US-China Business Council, examined the difficult trade-offs that the Biden Administration faces to ensure balanced and effective China policy.

China's Quest to Protect Its Interests Overseas
Feb. 8, 2021
Andrea Ghiselli of Fudan University offered insights into the dynamics to China’s foreign policy making and how we understand China's rise

State of Surveillance
Jan. 25, 2020 | Video
Mareike Ohlberg and Jessica Batke document the rise and widespread procurement of surveillance technology and services over the last 16 years across China.

Has the EAST Risen Again? Lessons from History
Jan. 13, 2021 | Video
Yasheng Huang of MIT presented four factors that have shaped Chinese development: education, autocracy, stability and technology (EAST) from the dynastic eras to today.

China as a Twenty-First Century Naval Power
Jan. 7, 2021 | Video
U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Michael McDevitt (Ret.), explores in his new book on China's objective for the People's Liberation Army to become a "great maritime power."

Toxic Politics: China’s Health and Governance In Crisis [Webinar]
Dec. 16, 2020 | Video
Speaker: Yanzhong Huang, Professor and Director of Global Health Studies at Seton Hall University; Senior Fellow for Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations

Clash of Empires: From “Chimerica” to the “New Cold War” [Webinar]
Dec. 9, 2020 | Video
Ho-fung Hung argues the U.S.-China rivalry is more about the shifting balance of economic forces in global capitalism than about ideological differences.

Under Beijing's Shadow: Southeast Asia's China Challenge [Webinar]
Nov. 19, 2020
Murray Hiebert provides a snapshot of ten countries in Southeast Asia by exploring their diverse experiences with China and their perceptions of Beijing’s ambitions in the region.

CHINA Town Hall and San Diego Conversations [Webinar]
Nov. 10, 2020
Investor, philanthropist and best-selling author Ray Dalio keynotes the national CHINA Town Hall, followed by reflections by Prof. Victor Shih and discussion with the San Diego community.

India and China at an Inflection Point [Webinar]
Oct. 28, 2020 | Video
Nirupama Rao, India's former Ambassador to China and the U.S. and Pacific Leadership Fellow at the Center for Global Transformation at GPS, addresses whether the recent India-China crisis at the Himalayan border signals the end of India's “strategic autonomy” at a challenging time for the Indian economy amid a pandemic.

China’s Long Road from Revolution to Reform [Webinar]
Oct. 14, 2020 | Video
Yale historian Odd Arne Westad presents a broad history of China in the 1970s from his forthcoming book (co-authored with Chen Jian) and reflects on the legacies of the reform era, and the impact on U.S.-China relations today. Moderated by UC San Diego professors of history Robert Edelman and Karl Gerth.

Book Talk with Prof. Paul Pickowicz: "A Sensational Encounter with High Socialist China" [Webinar]
Oct. 6, 2020 | Video
"A Sensational Encounter with High Socialist China" is a recollection of the historic visit of fourteen American students (and one Canadian) to China in 1971. The visit was one of the first approved for American scholars after the Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949 and occurred prior to President Nixon’s famous trip (as well as that of a second group of scholars) in 1972. This book is Paul Pickowicz's personal account of the events leading up to their visa approvals as well as those that occurred during the journey itself.

U.S. Bans on TikTok and WeChat: Legal and Policy Issues [Webinar]
Oct. 5, 2020
Susan Shirk, Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and James Dempsey discuss the controversial executive orders from the perspectives of constitutional law, data privacy, cyber security and the U.S.-China competition for technological dominance.

Hong Kong’s National Security Law [Webinar]
July 20, 2020 | Video
Sweeping national security legislation was unanimously approved by the National People’s Congress and signed by President Xi Jinping on June 30, prohibiting acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign collusion in Hong Kong. Prof. Victor Shih will discuss the implications of the new law on the political, economic and cultural life in the Special Administration Region with Mr. Bernard Chan, the Convenor of the Non-Official Members of the Executive Council, Hong Kong SAR.

Rebooting the Chinese Consumption After COVID-19 [Webinar]
June 29, 2020 | Video
Since COVID-19, the China Household Finance Survey analyzed twice of their household sample and found that relatively poor households who have experienced large income and employment shocks have not yet fully recovered. Professor Li Gan does not expect a bounce in consumption in 2020 because of the lower income for the poor and a stronger precautionary saving motive for the rich. Small business have overcome most of earlier problems in logistics and in hiring, yet the problem of insufficient demand remains. All evidence suggests a large income transfer to the poor is essential for the recovery.

Covering China in the Age of Coronavirus [Webinar]
June 11, 2020
American journalists from three major newspapers were expelled from China in March, including from Hong Kong and Macao, in a series of escalating moves by the U.S. and China as bilateral relations spiraled further downward since the coronavirus outbreak. Susan Shirk interviewed two reporters from The New York Times, Chris Buckley and Steven Lee Myers, about their last reporting trips before leaving China, the impact of the epidemic on Chinese politics, and how the U.S. and China might resolve the clash over journalists’ access.

After a Sleepless Year: Hong Kong vs China [Webinar]
June 3, 2020 | Video
One year since Hong Kong’s anti-extradition movement began, Prof. Ching Kwan Lee analyzes the various frontlines of resistance beyond street protests, all in reaction to an increasingly repressive and aggressive Chinese regime. Lee highlighted breakthroughs already achieved, the latest crackdown during the COVID-19 pandemic and envisioned challenges ahead.

China’s Gilded Age [Webinar]
June 1, 2020 | Video
Why has China grown so fast for so long despite vast corruption? Will corruption lead to the CCP’s collapse? In “China’s Gilded Age: the Paradox of Economic Boom & Vast Corruption”, Yuen Yuen Ang challenges one-dimensional measures of corruption by unbundling the concept into four varieties: petty theft, grand theft, speed money and access money. Ang changes the way we think about corruption and capitalism, not only in China but around the world. Yuen Yuen Ang discussed her new book with UC San Diego Professor Victor Shih in this webinar.

Off the Epicenter: How Rural China is Coping with COVID-19 [Webinar]
May 6, 2020 | Video
Since the novel coronavirus outbreak in the megacity of Wuhan in December 2019, lockdowns were also implemented across China’s vast countryside, home to more than 700 million people.

From SARS to Coronavirus: China’s Public Health and Governance Crisis [Webinar]
Mar. 11, 2020 | Video
Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, draws lessons from the 2003 SARS epidemic and analyzes China’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak and its implications for domestic politics and international governance. Please note that this event was a webinar.

So Kwan Lok Lecture: A Journey Through Turbulent Times - China and America
Mar. 9, 2020 | Video
In the ninth So Kwan Lok Distinguished Lecture on China, Weijian Shan, economist, investor and best-selling author shared his odyssey of living through the trauma and turmoil of Mao’s Cultural Revolution to become one of Asia’s most successful financiers. Combined with his experience as a professor at the Wharton School and a leading investor, his background gives him a unique perspective on China and the U.S. Shan’s story is one of courage, hope and perseverance to dream of a better future in dismal circumstances.

Contemporary Chinese Photography in Conversation
Mar. 6, 2020
Join us for a sneak peek of the upcoming exhibition "Out of the Shadows: Contemporary Chinese Photography" at the Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) in Balboa Park starting March 7. Beginning with the innovations of the pioneering Chinese photographer Lang Jingshan (1892 –1995), the exhibition introduces eight contemporary neo-traditionalist artists who continue to explore the possibility of transformation, extension and reconstruction of the Chinese aesthetic tradition in a postmodern context.

State Formation in China and Taiwan
Feb. 20, 2020
Julia Strauss, professor at the University of London, argues in her new book that accounting for the two variants of the Chinese state in the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China solely in terms of their divergent ideology and institutions fails to recognize their similarities and their relative successes.

Between Competition and Cooperation: The Future of the U.S.-China Relationship
Feb. 1, 2020 | Video
A panel of experts, including former national security adviser Stephen Hadley, offered insights into how the U.S. and China can restrain competitive excesses, sustain cooperative energies and work out a modus vivendi given their increasingly divergent interests in the 21st century.

The Xinjiang Crisis: Domestic and International Reactions
Jan. 23, 2020 | Video
A panel of experts illuminated the economic, political and technological drivers of the repression of Uyghurs, a Muslim and Turkic-speaking ethnic group under mass surveillance and with more than a million detained by the Chinese government. The discussion featured Darren Byler of the University of Washington and Gerry Shih of The Washington Post, moderated by Molly Roberts of UC San Diego.

Tales from Two Chinese Cities: Resistance in the Year of Anniversaries
Jan. 9, 2020 | Video
From late 2018, China has marked a series of major anniversaries and commemorations. A century of political, cultural and social upheaval has been brought into sharp focus by tumultuous contemporary events. Today, the past is living into the present in ways that are significant not only for the Chinese commonwealth but also for China in the World. This talk focused on two cities — Beijing and Hong Kong — and on Geremie Barmé’s work concerning the case of Xu Zhangrun at Tsinghua University and the uprising in Hong Kong.

The Past and Future of Political Reform in China
Dec. 2, 2019
30 years on, activist Wang Dan reflected on the pro-democracy movement in 1989 and discusses prospects of reform of the Chinese Communist Party in the context of political corruption and social tensions, in a conversation with Professor Victor Shih.

China’s Social Credit System and its Application to Civil Society
Nov. 20, 2019
Most discussion of the social credit system in China (社会信用体系) focuses on its application to individual citizens. Mark Sidel of the University of Wisconsin Law School presented evidence of how the Chinese government is beginning to use it to evaluate nonprofit and philanthropic organizations.

2019 CHINA Town Hall
Nov. 18, 2019
Join communities across the U.S. for the thirteenth annual CHINA Town Hall that provided Americans a nuanced understanding of U.S.-China relations. A national webcast of a panel of China experts was followed by a local town hall discussion.

The Politics of Legal Regimes in China
Nov. 14, 2019
Is "ruling in accordance with law” a propaganda slogan or a real policy? In a comprehensive study of the workings of the Chinese legal system, William Hurst of Northwestern University offered a new way of understanding how cases are adjudicated in authoritarian settings in a conversation with Kwai Ng, UC San Diego expert on judicial decision-making in Mainland China and Hong Kong.

Defining the Great Global Decoupling
Nov. 4, 2019 | Video
Trade tensions and the deeper conflicts on technology, economy and geopolitics can lead to the possibility of China and America decoupling — creating two distinct, rival economic, technological and political systems with their own spheres of influences. In the Eighth Robert F. Ellsworth Memorial Lecture, former Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd explained the arguments by American and Chinese hawks in this current dynamic and where they may take U.S.-China relations.

A Summer of Protests: What’s the Path Forward for Hong Kong?
Oct. 10, 2019
A panel of UC San Diego faculty and students reflected on the protests that roiled Hong Kong for the past four months and discussed the root causes of the political crisis, the possible paths forward and the future of “One Country Two Systems.”

U.S.-China Competition and Co-existence
Oct. 3, 2019
A panel of Chinese and American experts will examine how historical examples such as the Cold War can illuminate the U.S.-China dynamics of competition in the age of globalization and economic interdependence. 

China’s Rise in Historical Perspective
Sept. 30, 2019
In his new book, "Making China Modern," Klaus Mühlhahn of the Free University of Berlin provides a panoramic survey of China's rise and resilience through war and rebellion, disease and famine.

Continuity and Innovation in Traditional Chinese Painting
Sept. 17, 2019 
As part of Chinese Art Week, four prominent artists from China and Taiwan shared their artistic journeys, followed by a live demonstration of creating Chinese paintings. UC San Diego art historian and professor Kuiyi Shen provided short commentaries and moderated a discussion.

Finding a New Equilibrium: Insights on U.S.-China Ties from High-Level Practitioners
Aug. 12, 2019
Informed by their rich personal experiences working with China at the highest levels, speakers from the inaugural UC San Diego Forum on U.S.-China Relations offered insights into how the U.S. and China can restrain competitive excesses, sustain cooperative energies and work out a modus vivendi given their increasingly divergent interests in the 21st century.

Robert F. Ellsworth Memorial Lecture: U.S.-China Relations in an Age of Adaptation
June 3, 2019
As the U.S.-China rivalry roils the region, there is a new dynamic underway in Asia that goes beyond the struggle for primacy between Washington, D.C. and Beijing. Despite an emerging pattern of increasing deference to China’s policy preference, few countries in the region are fully “bandwagoning” with China. Instead, Asia is adapting to a less dependable America, and a stronger and more assertive China, through new arrangements and institutions. This structural diversification process will impact both U.S. and Chinese interests in the long term and underscores that the next U.S. administration, regardless of party or policy, will encounter a more challenging and altered environment in this crucial region. Daniel Russel, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, addressed these dynamics in the Seventh Robert F. Ellsworth Memorial Lecture.

Mobilizing Without the Masses in China
May 9, 2019 
When advocacy organizations are forbidden from rallying people to take to the streets, what do they do? When activists are detained for coordinating protests, are their hands ultimately tied? Diana Fu from the University of Toronto revealed how state repression is deployed on the ground and to what effect on mobilization.

China Tripping: Encountering the Everyday in the People's Republic
May 1, 2019
Covering nearly a half-century, “China Tripping” is the first anthology of reflections by influential experts on their cultural and social encounters in the People’s Republic. Editors Paul Pickowicz and Jeremy Murray spoke about the book project, with reflections from other China scholars at UC San Diego.

Reporting on Tiananmen: 30 Years Later
April 10, 2019 
On this 30th year since the Tiananmen Square protests and crackdown, we screened an episode of the "Assignment: China" series on American media coverage of China. This episode focused on the work of journalists covering the massive demonstrations that rocked Beijing in spring 1989. Journalist Mike Chinoy, former CNN Beijing Bureau Chief, will share his reflections. The event was moderated by Paul Pickowicz, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History and Chinese Studies at UC San Diego.

Will China Save The Planet?
April 8, 2019 
Leading China environmental expert Barbara Finamore, who is the Senior Strategic Director, Asia at the Natural Resources Defense Council, explained the fundamental economic and political challenges and incentives for China to transition into a low-carbon energy future. GPS Professor David Victor moderated this discussion.

The Consequences of China's Export Slowdown
March 14, 2019
Davin Chor, associate professor in Tuck’s Economics group and the chair of Dartmouth’s academic cluster on globalization, shows how the recent downturn in China’s export performance links to a rise in incidents of labor-related protests, accompanied by an increase in emphasis on upholding stability as a political priority.

End of an Era: How China's Authoritarian Revival is Undermining Its Rise
March 5, 2019 
Carl Minzner, professor of Law at Fordham Law School, outlines the looming risks of instability as China’s reform era ends, and how this period fits into populist and authoritarian trends worldwide. Minzner delves into China's anti-corruption campaign and crackdown on civil society and human rights activists, analyzes elite politics and street protests and explores the radicalization that is taking place in Hong Kong.

Sokwanlok Lecture: U.S.-China Symbiosis: A Conversation with Joe Tsai
Feb. 14, 2019
The United States is the world’s dominant power, and China is the world’s rising power. The relationship between the two countries will be the most important international and geopolitical question of our time. Are we headed towards a crisis? What can the two governments do to avert years of cold war and maintain peace and prosperity? How does this affect businesses and the peoples of these two countries? In the fourth Sokwanlok Distinguished Lecture on China, Joe Tsai, co-founder and executive vice chairman of Alibaba Group shares his views on these important questions.

China as a Global Finance Powerhouse
Feb. 8, 2019
A panel of experts will reflect on how China’s opening of its financial sector made the country a powerhouse in global finance, and current foreign competition amid growing trade tensions. 

China's Auto Industry: Tech Takes Command
Jan. 31, 2019
The global auto industry is experiencing an unprecedented disruption: autonomous, connected, electric and shared vehicles have arrived. Auto-industry expert Michael Dunne reveals how technology companies have altered the auto landscape and why China possesses some decisive advantages in this global race for automotive supremacy.

#ChinaToo: The Feminist Awakening in the People's Republic
Jan. 23, 2019 
Through interviews with the Feminist Five and other leading Chinese activists, journalist and scholar Leta Hong Fincher argues in "Betraying Big Brother" that the popular, broad-based movement poses a unique challenge to China’s authoritarian regime today. Her book traces the rise of a new feminist consciousness now finding expression through the #MeToo movement, and describes how the Chinese government has suppressed the history of its own feminist struggles and how the movement against patriarchy could reconfigure China and the world.

The Better Angels of U.S.-China Relations: Film Screening & Discussion
Jan. 17, 2019 
In its San Diego premiere, "Better Angels" is a newly released theatrical documentary that explores how the world's two largest superpowers are racing towards economic and political conflict, yet find themselves undeniably linked and interdependent by the new reality of global economic rivalries and cultural ties. The film captures the compelling personal stories and ideological challenges of why these two countries have the world's most important relationship. Producers of the film and 21st Century China experts had a post-screening panel discussion.

Data Analytics Boot Camp
Jan. 11, 2019
The China Data Lab hosted a one-day boot camp to help future social scientists develop methods and techniques to utilize emerging big data in the field. In this boot camp, attendees put the skills, tools and techniques they are taught to work. They received hands-on instructions on how to get data online, do panel data analysis and text analysis, and draw interactive visualizations from experience. They left the boot camp with practical knowledge and ideas for future research.

Nowhere to Call Home: Documentary Film Screening and Conversation
Nov. 27, 2018
Award-winning radio correspondent Jocelyn Ford presents her debut documentary that won the hearts of many viewers in China with a rare glimpse into the world of a Tibetan farmer, torn between tradition and creating a better future for her son in Beijing. The 75 min. film screening will be followed by a discussion with the filmmaker.

Generation Mobile: Digital Media and Youth in China
Dec. 3, 2018
Vice President of Tencent and Pacific Leadership Fellow Caitlyn Chen will discuss the topic of digital media and youth in China. The event will be in Chinese with live English interpretation.

Raising Global Families
Nov. 8, 2018
Pei-Chia Lan, professor of sociology at National Taiwan University, examines how ethnic Chinese parents in Taiwan and the United States negotiate cultural differences and class inequality to raise children in the contexts of globalization and immigration.

Inside China's Great Firewall
Nov. 1, 2018
UC San Diego political science professor Molly Roberts’ groundbreaking book on informational technology and control in China demonstrates that even censorship that is easy to circumvent can still be enormously effective in influencing the Chinese public.

China's Universities in Perspective
Oct. 26, 2018
Tsinghua University professor and former Dean of its School of Economics and Management Yingyi Qian discussed the evolution of China's universities since 1978, especially since 1998, and examined their strengths and weaknesses according to major global rankings and the challenges they face in the future.

Little Soldiers: A story on China’s education system
Oct. 24, 2018
Lenora Chu presented an on-the-ground story on China’s public education system through her personal journey as an American mother and journalist raising a family in Shanghai.

North Korean Summitry
Oct. 18, 2018
Developments on the Korean peninsula have been driven forward by a succession of unexpected summits between North Korea and South Korea, China and the U.S. Moreover, President Trump has signaled his willingness to hold a second bilateral summit as well. Yet summits may or may not yield breakthroughs unless matched by more sustained diplomacy at lower levels. What would it take to get to a U.S.-DPRK nuclear or wider deal and is such a prospect even likely? A panel discussion to answered these questions.

CHINA Town Hall: U.S.-China Technology Competition
Oct. 9, 2018
Communities across the U.S. joined together for the twelfth annual CHINA Town Hall. This national conversation on China featured an interactive webcast with Secretary Condoleezza Rice and an on-site discussion with Thilo Hanemann, director at Rhodium Group, on China's high-tech investments in the U.S.

The Rise and Fall of a Fraud Investigator in China
May 31, 2018
Peter Humphrey provided an eyewitness account of how his due diligence and anti-fraud work for international businesses hit the buffers when he and his partner and wife Yingzeng Yu were imprisoned for two years in Shanghai on charges of illegally obtaining private information.

Chinese Reformers, Western Economists and the Making of Global China
May 24, 2018
Julian Gewirtz, a Rhodes Scholar and doctorate candidate in history at the University of Oxford, described how Chinese officials and intellectuals looked beyond their country’s borders for economic guidance during the transformational decade of the 1980s. This presentation was based on his book “Unlikely Partners”.

How Chinese Judges Think
May 15, 2018 
Drawing from original fieldwork and interviews, this talk by UC San Diego Professor Kwai Ng offered a look at the decision-making process of judges in China. Do Chinese judges follow the law and the law only? What other factors influence the judges?

China's Crisis of Success
April 30, 2018
In China's rise to superpower status, William Overholt, senior fellow at Harvard University, argues that continued success requires the reinvention of its economy and politics. Overholt shows in his new book that China has reached a threshold where success has eliminated the conditions that enabled miraculous growth and explores critical social issues of economic transition, notably inequality, corruption, environmental degradation and globalization.

China’s Pursuit of Next Frontier Technology
April 18, 2018 | Photos
Technological competition between the U.S. and China is heating up. The “Made in China 2025” plan will continue to enlarge China’s industrial robotics market, and China also aims to surpass America’s lead in artificial intelligence research. Henrik Christensen, director of the UC San Diego Institute of Contextual Robotics, explained how China is investing in these cutting-edge sectors. Barry Naughton, Sokwanlok Chair of Chinese International Affairs at GPS, discussed these trends in the context of China’s industrial policies and economic reforms in the Xi Jinping era.

Ideas and Ideologies Competing for China’s Future
April 10, 2018
Xi Jinping has worked on crafting a unified national ideology, but so far not yielded the desired result: a broad-based societal consensus on China’s future course. Research by the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) shows differing views within Chinese society on China’s developmental model and its global role.

The Return of Religion and China’s Future
March 21, 2018
Following a century of violent anti-religious campaigns, China is now filled with new temples, churches and mosques — as well as cults, sects and politicians trying to harness religion for their own ends. What does the return of religion mean for the future of the world’s newest superpower? Acclaimed journalist Ian Johnson addressed this question in the Sixth Robert F. Ellsworth Memorial Lecture.

Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom
March 8, 2018
Drawing on personal letters, diaries, memoirs, government documents and contemporary news reports, John Pomfretre constructs the surprising, tragic and marvelous ways Americans and Chinese have engaged with one another through the centuries. 

Europe-China Relations: New Realities and Implications for the U.S.
Feb. 26, 2018
Going beyond trade and investment relations, Beijing is increasingly exercising political influence and creating new dividing lines in Europe. Some observers in Washington see Europe drifting into the Chinese orbit. Mikko Huotari (German) and Philippe Le Corre (French) are two leading experts on Europe-China relations and discussed with 21st Century China Center Chair Susan Shirk the state of play of Europe-China relations, how the EU and its member states position itself vis-a-vis China and the prospects for transatlantic coordination on China.

Silicon Valley’s China Paradox
Feb. 22, 2018
Since China's first Internet connections in the 1990s, the relationship between China and Silicon Valley has moved through four phases – dependence, competition, segmentation and synergy. Matt Sheehan, former China correspondent for The Huffington Post and The WorldPost, argues that the relationship has arrived at a counter-intuitive new equilibrium, one in which the flows of talent, money and ideas between the two ecosystems are at an all-time high, even while companies and products remain stubbornly confined to their own markets.

China-Mongolia Relations and Taiwan
Feb. 15, 2018
Morris Rossabi, professor and historian of China and Central and Inner Asia at Columbia University, discussed the present status of Sino-Mongol political, economic and cultural relations, and will seek to assess the future of Mongolia's contacts with China and Taiwan.

North Korea's Nuclear Program: From an Intelligence Perspective
Feb. 7, 2018
Recent foment over North Korean nuclear tests and missile launches exist in a context going back decades when the intelligence community first warned U.S. policymakers of North Korea’s nuclear weapons potential in 1984. North Korea continued to resist safeguards on its program and refused to fully answer questions about its past nuclear activities. Torrey Froscher, who served in the Central Intelligence Agency’s Directorate of Intelligence for 35 years with a particular focus on proliferation, discussed how the intelligence community played a critical role all along the way—including identification of the uranium enrichment program that led to the end of the Agreed Framework.

Sokwanlok Lecture: Infrastructure Investment as a Development Strategy
Jan. 29, 2018
China's model of state-led development differs both from Western approaches and also from its East Asian neighbors' industrial policies by focusing single-mindedly on infrastructure investment. This strategy was pursued both inside China and is the basis for its ambitious "One Belt, One Road" initiative. In the third Sokwanlok Distinguished Lecture on China, Francis Fukuyama, who has written widely on issues in development and international politics, focused on the economic logic, functioning, and vulnerabilities of this approach to development in this lecture.

China through the Lens of Friendship Delegations in the 1970s
Jan. 18, 2018
A dialog and reception to launch the digital collection of photographs taken by the Committee of Concerned Asian Scholars (CCAS) Friendship Delegations.

“The Specter of Global China”
Nov. 16, 2017
In her new book “The Specter of Global China: Politics, Labor, and Foreign Investment in Africa,” Ching Kwan Lee examines China as one of Africa’s top business partners, aggressively pursuing its raw materials and establishing a mighty presence in the continent’s booming construction market. 

“By More Than Providence: American Power in the Asia-Pacific”
Nov. 7, 2017
In his latest book "By More Than Providence," Michael J. Green follows the development of U.S. strategic thinking toward East Asia, identifying recurring themes in American statecraft that reflect the nation's political philosophy and material realities.

"The Chinese Typewriter and the Future of IT"
Nov. 5, 2017
Stanford historian Tom Mullaney, in his new book "The Chinese Typewriter: A History," tells the story of a fascinating series of experiments, prototypes, failures and successes in the century-long quest for a workable Chinese typewriter.

"Asian Security Challenges: The View from Washington"
Oct. 26, 2017
Mara Karlin, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development, discussed how the U.S. has fundamentally different views of Asian security from China, and these views are growing farther apart as China modernizes its military and undermines decades of regional stability.

"Xi Takes Charge" (Washington, D.C.)
Oct. 23, 2017
To help us understand what has transpired under Xi’s rule in the past five years and how the 19th Party Congress could reshape China’s political landscape, the 21st Century China Center assembled a team of UC San Diego’s leading experts on Chinese politics and economy to address a series of issues related to the 19th Party Congress.

"The Trump Administration and North Korea"
Oct. 19, 2017
North Korea continues to represent the most significant foreign policy challenge of the Trump administration. Yet the military and diplomatic issues center not only on North Korea itself but on the triangular relations between the U.S., China and South Korea. In this panel, we heard a perspective from the Moon Jae-in administration with commentary by GPS faculty.

"Xi Take Charge" (San Diego)
Oct. 11, 2017
To help us understand what has transpired under Xi’s rule in the past five years and how the 19th Party Congress could reshape China’s political landscape, the 21st Century China Center assembled a team of UC San Diego’s leading experts on Chinese politics and economy to address a series of issues related to the 19th Party Congress.

"China's Ideological Spectrum"
May 25, 2017
Using data from large-scale surveys in China, Jennifer Pan of Stanford University shared her findings that public preferences in ideology are not simply split along a pro-regime or anti-regime divide in authoritarian contexts. 

"San Diego Global Forum: The Intensifying Battle for the Chinese Market"
May 9, 2017
Alan Beebe, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in China came to San Diego to provide insight on the obstacles American firms continue to face in China, and what opportunities need to be taken advantage of to remain competitive in the world’s most populous country. Jack Bell, founder & CEO at Pantek Partners, led a Q&A session with Beebe.

"Barbarians at the Gate: Corporate Takeovers & the Rise of Shadow Banking"
April 25, 2017
Veteran journalist WANG Shuo and managing editor of Caixin chronicled a hostile corporate takeover war of Vanke, the largest property developer in China, that sent waves of deep shock to the entire capital market and opened eyes for those who had thought they already understood everything about the dynamics of China's financial industry. Behind the emergent corporate raiders is a seismic shift of China's financial sector, a giant shadow banking system has arisen. No one is prepared.

"Raise the Umbrellas: A Film on Hong Kong's Democracy Movement"
March 15, 2017
Acclaimed filmmaker Evans Chan 陳耀成 screened and commented on his documentary “Raise the Umbrellas,” in this West Coast premiere.

Solo exhibition with Li Huai: "You Fascinate Me"
March 11, 2017 | More information (PDF)
Li Huai, Lecturer for the Visual Arts Department at UC San Diego, specializes in installation, painting, drawing, multi-media and Chinese calligraphy. Her work deals with various issues related to East-West cultural interaction in an increasingly transnational age, including issues involving the Asian diaspora.

"Ten Years: A Film on Hong Kong in 2025"
March 8, 2017 | 5-8 p.m. in Peterson Hall 110, UC San Diego
As a parallel opportunity to the "Raise the Umbrellas" premiere, UC San Diego's Distinguished Professor of History and Chinese Studies and Endowed Chair in Modern Chinese History Paul Pickowicz led a screening and discussion of the 2015 Hong Kong surprise blockbuster "Ten Years" (十年). 

Robert F. Ellsworth Memorial Lecture: “China’s Growing Protectionism and the U.S. Response”
March 7, 2017
Fmr. Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky addressed China’s recent series of policies that put foreign companies at a sharp competitive disadvantage, which are generating tensions with China’s trading partners and raising the question of how the U.S. and the international business community should respond.

"Chinese Computing and the Future of I.T."
Feb. 25, 2017 | Podcast
Are the 75,000 characters in the Chinese language impediments to the fast-moving nature of modern technology or are Chinese typists ushering in the future of computing? Tom Mullaney, associate professor of Chinese History at Stanford University, explored these questions through his captivating research of Chinese telegraphs, typewriters and computers. The Stanford historian was joined by Scott Klemmer, associate professor and co-director of the Design Lab at UC San Diego, to discuss what the story of these objects tells us about the relationships between language, coding and the richer ways we communicate and solve problems in the 21st century.

“How Should the U.S. Approach China? Bipartisan Report Launch”
Feb. 13, 2017 | Podcast | Video | Storify
With a new administration in the White House, maintaining what is perhaps the country’s most crucial bilateral relationship remains a critical issue. Members of a high-level Task Force on U.S.-China Policy, organized by the 21st Century China Center at UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy and Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations, will discuss their expert recommendations for the Trump administration.

"The Great LOL of China"
Feb. 6, 2017 | Podcast | Recap by China Focus
Kick back, relax and enjoy a good laugh about studying Chinese and China. China Focus will host an evening of cross-cultural comedy with Jesse Appell, Beijing-based comedian and founder of the U.S.-China Comedy Center.

"Very Close Encounters: Modern China at the Grassroots"
Jan. 18, 2017 
Distinguished Professor of History and Chinese Studies Paul Pickowicz recounted lessons from decades of on-the-ground research on Chinese society, including gripping filmed interviews he conducted in rural China in the 1980s.

"The Impact of Tsai and Trump on Cross-Strait Relations"
Jan. 10, 2017 | Interview with China Focus
Tsai Ing-wen came to power in Taiwan, pledging to pursue stability and continuity in cross-Strait relations. Beijing has responded with a cold shoulder and a cold peace. President-elect Trump broke with precedent through a phone call with Tsai and comments casting doubt on the U.S.’s long-standing “one China policy.” In this talk, Jacques deLisle, the Stephen A. Cozen Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania, discussed what do these developments imply for Taiwan’s status and security, Beijing’s and Washington’s Taiwan policies, and U.S.-China relations?

"Mr. Deng Goes to Washington"
Nov. 20, 2016
This riveting documentary tells the story of Deng Xiaoping's historic visit to the U.S. in 1979 that changed the trajectory of U.S.-China relations and the world. The film screening was followed by conversation about the historical role of Deng and U.S.-China relations post-election.

“UC San Diego China Partnerships: Looking Back, Looking Forward”
Nov. 1, 2016 |  | More information (PDF) | Video
Paul Pickowicz, UC San Diego’s Distinguished Professor of History and Chinese Studies, presented a rare short film about UC San Diego's official visit to China in 1979, just months after the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the U.S. and the People's Republic of China. The screening was followed by reflections from members of the original delegation and a look ahead to the university's multidisciplinary collaborations with Chinese universities and institutions.

CHINA Town Hall: "Charting a New Course for the U.S.-China Relationship"
Oct. 18, 2016 | Podcast with Melanie Hart
China's rapid development and Sino-American relations have a direct impact on the lives of just about everyone in the U.S. CHINA Town Hall is a national day of programming designed to provide Americans across the U.S. and beyond the opportunity to discuss issues in the relationship with leading experts.

Sokwanlok Distinguished Lecture on China "Understanding China's New Normal"
Speaker: Qian Yingyi (钱颖一), Professor, Department of Economics; Dean, School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University
Dec. 8, 2015
As China's economic growth rate has declined to 7.5% in 2014 from its recent historic average of 9.8%, the once unstoppable economy is said to have entered a “new normal.” This new paradigm is forcing China's leaders to face a series of new and vexing questions.

"Why the China Model Works"
Dec. 1, 2015
Westerners tend to divide the political world into “good” democracies and “bad” authoritarian regimes. But the Chinese political model does not fit neatly in either category. Over the past three decades, China has evolved a political system that can best be described as “political meritocracy.”

"Are the U.S. and China Headed Toward a New Cold War?"
Nov. 13, 2015 | Photos | Video
In the wake of Xi Jinping's visit to the U.S., three of the world's preeminent experts on China and the U.S.-China relationship offered an in-depth analysis of what ails relations between the two countries.

"Aporia of Ethnicity and the State"
Oct. 19, 2015
Modern China, like other multi-ethnic nation-states, faces the aporia of the state and ethnicity. By treating the contestation between the state and ethnicity as a global cultural issue, the speakers intend to diachronically discuss the evolution of Chinese state’s policy on ethnic diversity.

"China Townhall: Chinese Investment in the United States"
Oct. 5, 2015 | Video
The 21st Century China Center partnered with the Global Education Initiative at The Bishop’s School to host the eighth annual China Town Hall by the National Committee on United States-China Relations. The program opened with a live webcast on the growth of Chinese foreign direct investment in the United States with Robert Rubin, Secretary of the Treasury under President Bill Clinton; Sheldon Day, Mayor, Thomasville, Alabama; Daniel Rosen, Founding Partner, Rhodium Group; and Stephen Orlins, President, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.

“Economic Impact of Mobile Technologies in China and India”
Speakers: Nate Tibbits, senior vice president of Government Affairs at Qualcomm, Inc. and David Michael, senior partner at Boston Consulting Group
June 2, 2015
Mobile technology has had an enormous impact on the global economy. The Boston Consulting Group and Qualcomm, Inc. have recently made an in-depth study at this impact, and during this event they discussed their research, putting a spotlight on China and India as two case study markets.

“中国水危机"
Speaker: 戴晴, activist and journalist
May 27, 2015
One dilemma shared by both China and California is the increased scarcity of water owing to poor resource management and climate change. Dai Qing, one of China's most remarkable public intellectuals and a long-time activist on environmental issues, explored how China's coming water crisis will affect its economic and political future.

"ChinaFile Presents: Does Xi Jinping Represent a Return to the Politics of the Mao Era?"
Panelistis: Susan Shirk, chair of the 21st Century China Center at GPS; Andrew G. Walder, Denise O'Leary and Kent Thiry Professor at Stanford University; Roderick MacFarquhar, Leroy B. Williams Professor of History and Political Science at Harvard University; and Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director of Asia Society's Center on U.S.-China Relations
May 21, 2015 
On the occasion of the publication of Andrew G. Walder's new book, "China Under Mao: A Revolution Derailed", the panel discussed of the ways in which Mao's thinking is still ‎embedded in China's world view.

“China's Powerful Patriots: Nationalist Protest in China's Foreign Relations”
Speaker: Jessica Chen Weiss, Yale University assistant professor and MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies fellow
May 20, 2015 | Audio
Jessica Chen Weiss argues that nationalist street demonstrations can provide diplomatic leverage for authoritarian governments that are not electorally accountable to public opinion, enabling authoritarian leaders to signal their intentions and tie their hands in international negotiations. Cosponsored with the Fudan-UC Center on Contemporary China.

“China's New Agenda: National Governance and Development”
Speakers: Lin Shangli, vice president of Fudan University and Susan Shirk, chair of the 21st Century China Center at GPS
May 19, 2015
This special event featured a dialogue between two of the most observant and experienced observers of Chinese politics, Susan Shirk and Lin Shangli. Their discussion explored the new paradigm of Xi Jinping's governance model as well as the future of U.S.-China relations.

"China's Economic Strategy in the Midst of the 'New Normal'"
Speaker: Zhang Xiaojing (张晓晶), professor and head of Macro-economics Department, Institute of Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences 
April 28, 2015 | Audio
Since the global financial crisis of 2008, economic growth rates in China have slowed such that many are wondering if the country will be able to maintain the stability is has achieved over the past two decades. The Chinese government is calling this new era of lowered growth rates the "New Normal," and to help us make sense of what this means, we were delighted to welcome one of China's most influential economists, Zhang Xiaojing.

"Asian Economics in 2015: Prospect, Opportunities and Challenges"
Speaker: Wei Shang-Jin, chief economist of the Asian Development Bank and professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business
April 14, 2015 | Audio
Cosponsored by the Center on Global Transformation.

"China's Military Development and the U.S.-Japan Alliance"
Speakers: Randall Schriver, Ian Easton, Akira Marusaki, Hiroko Maeda and Tai Ming Cheung
March 24, 2015  | Audio
This panel of Japanese and United States experts explored the development of China’s military power, as well as what this means for the future of the U.S.-Japan alliance.

"U.S.-China Economic Relationship: Opportunities and Prospects"
Robert F. Ellsworth Memorial Lecture
March 2, 2015
In his lecture, Robert D. Hormats discussed China's foreign policy under Xi Jinping, as well as the challenges and opportunities faced by the U.S. as China's influence abroad continues to expand.

"Performance Legitimacy, State Autonomy and China’s Economic Miracle"
Dec. 2, 2013 | Audio
Speaker: Dr. Dingxin Zhao, Department of Sociology, University of Chicago
In this public talk, Dr. Zhao discussed the fact that the success of the Chinese economy relies not just on the Chinese state's economic policy, but also on its social policies.

"China's Prospect for Growth and RMB Internationalization"
Nov. 14, 2013
Speakers: Weisen LI, Fudan University and YU Yongding, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
In this public talk, two renowned economists from China tackled important challenges facing China's economic future.

"Protecting the Vulnerable: a Discussion of Legal Reform and Civil Society in China"
Nov. 7, 2013
Speaker: Guo Jianmei
In this roundtable discussion, Ms. Guo Jianmei discussed China’s rapidly growing civil society sector and the differences it can make in the lives of women, youth and others around the country. Guo is one of China’s preeminent public interest lawyer and has fought for women’s rights in China for more than 17 years.

China Town Hall: "Issues in U.S.-China Relations"
Oct. 28, 2013
Speakers: Speakers: Madeleine Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State and Jeremy Wallace, Assistant Professor of Political Science, at Ohio State University
The seventh China Town Hall meeting, coordinated by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (NCUSCR) on October 28 in over 60 cities throughout China, opened with a live webcast from Washington featuring Madeleine Albright, former secretary of state, who discussed U.S.-China relations. Secretary Albright's talk was followed by a public lecture on urbanization in China by Jeremy Wallace, visiting fellow at Yale and assistant professor of political science from Ohio State University.

"China as Number One: So What?"
Oct. 22, 2013
Speaker: Damien Ma, Fellow at the Paulson Institute
In this public talk, Damien Ma examined the broad consensus that within a decade, China will likely become the world’s largest economy. He discussed his forthcoming book "In Line Behind a Billion People: How Scarcity Will Define China’s Ascent in the Next Decade."

"Chinese Science and Technology: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives"
Oct. 18, 2013
Speakers: Dr. Tai Ming Cheung, Dr. Benjamin Elman, Dr. Peter Suttmeier, and Dr. Ezra Vogel
This informative discussion brought together experts from around the country to shed light on the foundation of China’s contemporary science and technology policy—and how it continues to impact our political economy today. This event was sponsored by the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation.

"Chinese Globalization: Characteristics, Trends, and Impacts"
Oct. 17, 2013
Speaker: Dr. SUN Jiaming, Professor of Sociology, School of Social Development and Public Policy, Fudan University
In this public talk, Dr. SUN discussed globalization at the individual level. He focused on globalization in terms of characteristic, basic trend and how it impacts Chinese residents' behaviors, lifestyle and value orientation as well as the consequence of local transformation.

"China and the Future of Global Manufacturing"
Oct. 8, 2013
Speaker: James Fallows, National Correspondent, The Atlantic
In his public talk, Mr. Fallows discussed the economic, political, and technological trends in China, in the United States, and elsewhere that are shaping the prospects for the next wave of innovation, corporate success, and the growth of manufacturing jobs around the world. This event was sponsored by the Center on Global Transformation.

"U.S. Pivot to Asia: What Does it Mean for the U.S.-China Relations?" A Conversation Between Kurt Campbell and Susan Shirk
June 7, 2013 | Slideshow | Video
Speaker: Kurt Campbell, Former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, U.S. State Department
In this public talk, moderated by Professor Susan Shirk, Chair of the 21st Century China Center, Asian foreign policy consultant and UC San Diego alumnus Kurt Campbell discussed U.S.-China relations and America's economic engagement with the Asia-Pacific.

"Culture, Communication, and China's National Image"
May 28, 2013
Panelists: Jian MENG, Na CHEN, Zengyu PEI, Fudan University
Our panelists discussed China's multi-faceted and diverse image and how different interest groups have different definitions and understandings of China.

"The China-North Korea Relationship in Perspective"
May 9, 2013
Panelists: Shen Dingli, Fudan University; Stephan Haggard, UC San Diego; and Robert Ross, Boston College
Our panelists addressed China's response to North Korea’s drive to expand its nuclear and long-range missile capabilities, examining how the China-North Korea relationship is shaped by China’s internal dynamics and the broader context of its relations with the United States.

"How Would the Chinese Government Respond to Another Tiananmen-style Protest?"
May 2, 2013
Yang Su, Associate Professor of Sociology, UC Irvine teaches and writes about social movements and protests. He authored the book "Collective Killings in Rural China during the Cultural Revolution" (Cambridge, 2011), which won the 2012 Barrington Moore Award for the best book in the area of comparative and historical sociology presented by the American Sociological Association.

"Underground Activism: Migrant Workers Organizing in China"
April 22, 2013
Diana Fu, Shorenstein Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University shared findings from 18 months of fieldwork inside unofficial labor organizations across China, exploring how the state and civil society experiment with new modes of control and contention inside the world's largest authoritarian regime.

"After the 'Air-Pocalypse' What is Happening with China’s Environmental Policies?"
April 15, 2013
Deborah Seligsohn, Environmental Policy Analyst examined the environmental policy measures China have taken over the past decade in addressing air and water pollution, the challenges that “air-pocalypse” brings to the fore, and what we are likely to see over the next several years.

"Challenges for the New Chinese Leadership"
April 9, 2013 | Video
Cai Fang is Director of the Institute of Population and Labor Economics in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. In this talk he shared his insights on these issues as the country's new leadership embarks on consolidating power and adjusting policies.

"Will China Fall into a Middle Income Trap?"
Feb. 26, 2013
Scott Rozelle, Helen F. Farnsworth Senior Fellow, and Co-Director of the Rural Education Action Program, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University spoke on China’s economic performance and growth-inequality status into perspective.

"Income Inequality and an Economy in Transition"
Feb. 21, 2013
GAN Li, Professor of Economics, Texas A&M University and Dean of School of Economics at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, spoke on the transition of Chinese economy toward a consumption-based economy that is dependent on a lowering income inequality.

"Why Didn't China Celebrate? The Implications of China's Education Reform for America"
Feb.14, 2013
Yong Zhao, Presidential Chair and Associate Dean of Global Education at University of Oregon, explored two paradigms of education, and challenge the traditional views of education quality. The presentation is based on his two most recent books Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization (ASCD, 2009) and World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students (Corwin, 2012).

"China's New Urban Poor and its Consciousness"
Feb. 4, 2013
Dorothy Solinger, Professor of Political Science at UC Irvine, discussed the following questions. Do the 22 million or so urban recipients of the Minimum Livelihood Guarantee [the dibao], whose per capita family income falls below a locally-set poverty line, properly constitute a “class”; and do they see themselves that way? Is the Chinese state benevolent toward these people, and do those who depend upon that state believe they can count on it?

"Fossil Energy and China's Future"
Jan. 29, 2013
Professor Julio Friedmann, Chief Energy Technologist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory spoke on China’s rapid economic growth demands growth in energy supplies and consumption. And how fundamental issues of trade, global sustainability, and national security are tied up in how the U.S. and China will cooperate and compete around fossil energy development and use.

"Censorship, Resistance, and Political Discourses in China's Cyberspace"
Jan. 22, 2013
Xiao Qiang, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of China Digital Times, and Adjunct Professor at the School of Information, UC Berkeley discussed these questions. What are the patterns of the government Internet censorship? What is the significance of Chinese netizens’ creative and surprising attempts to circumvent and subvert such censorship? Are new forms of networked communication enhancing opportunities for social change and helping to move China toward a “threshold” for political transformation?

"Can China Sustain its Growth? China's Economic Challenges in the Next Ten Years" (PDF)
Jan. 7, 2013
Panelists: Yuan Zhigang, Hua Min, and Bai Chong'en
Three distinguished Chinese economists from both Fudan and Tsinghua Universities shared their analysis of the economic challenges that China will face in the next decade. Among the topics explored by the panelists included how, and whether, China can sustain its rapid growth while addressing what the consequences are for income distribution.

Dec. 3, 2012
Leading scholars from China’s Fudan University and the University of California joined together for a one-day symposium to assess the implications of American election and Chinese leadership transitions for U.S.-China Relations in the next four to five years. The evening forum discussed "Balancing the Dimensions of the U.S.-China Relationship."

"Urbanization in China"
Nov. 15, 2012
Matthew E. Kahn, Professor at UCLA, spoke on his research focuses on environmental, urban, real estate, and energy economics.

"China's Leadership Transition: Implications for China's Domestic Development and External Relations" [Video]
Nov. 1, 2012
Three well-known China scholars provided insight into the upcoming 18th Party Congress in China, and analyzed implications of the leadership transition for China's domestic development and external relations at the panel talk.

"Confucianism and its Use in China Today"
Oct. 18, 2012
XIE Xialing, Professor of Sociology, Fudan University of China spoke about how over the recent decades Confucianism has experienced a revival in the Mainland China after it had been vilified during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76).

"Chinese National Security Strategy and Military Modernization"
Oct. 18, 2012 | Dean's Roundtable Lecture Series
General Karl Eikenberry, former ambassador to Afghanistan from 2009-2011, is a highly regarded China expert with a distinguised military and diplomatic record. During his 35-year career in the United States Army, he was a China area officer who served in several key policy roles in the Pentagon.

"Why China's Succession Game Matters: Implications for China, the US, and the World" [Audio]
Oct. 11, 2012
Chris K. Johnson, Senior Adviser and Freeman Chair in China Studies, Center for Strategic and International Studies spoke on the outcome of China’s leadership transition this fall is shaping up to be one of the most consequential political developments in China since the beginning of the reform era.

"China Airborne: Aviation and the Future of China"
May 15, 2012
In China Airborne, James Fallows documents the extraordinary scale of China's growth and urbanization, revolutionizing the country in ways analogous to the building of America's transcontinental railroad in the nineteenth century. In this talk, Fallows explained what this now means for the United States and for the rest of the world.

"Islamic and Chinese Calligraphy: A Meeting of Two Traditions"
May 7, 2012
Master Calligrapher Haji Noor Deen discussed the history and meaning of Islamic calligraphy in China and demonstrated various calligraphic styles.

"Relational Repression in China: Using Social Ties to Demobilize Protestors"
April 30, 2012
Professor Kevin O’Brien discussed the practice and effectiveness of relational, “soft” repression in China. His talk casted light on the ways social ties can demobilize as well as mobilize contention in popular action and protests, and how the state and social power can be combined to serve state ends.

Film: Dongtian de Gushi (Winter Story)
April 24, 2012
Using a pseudo-documentary aesthetic, director Zhu Chuanming’s fictional Winter Story unfolds a realistic love story between a nameless protagonist and street girl in an impoverished Beijing suburban setting.

"President Obama’s Pivot to Asia-Pacific: A Turn to Encircle and Contain China’s Rise"
April 3, 2012
U.S. policy toward China during President Obama’s first term underwent a dramatic pivot, from stressing shared interests with China to clashing with Beijing on sensitive issues. In his lecture, Dr. Suisheng Zhao addressed how this policy change should be understood, and what other causes and implications there might have been in this shift.

An Interview with Ezra Vogel
March 9, 2012
In this luncheon roundtable discussion, GPS Professors Susan Shirk and Barry Naughton interviewed Ezra Vogel about the evolution of his thinking about China over the long span of his intellectual life and invited him to share his observation about the changes in Chinese society from the Maoist days to the present.

IR/PS Dean's Roundtable Event: "Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China"
March 9, 2012
Ezra F. Vogel is the Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences Emeritus at Harvard and former Director of Harvard’s Fairbank Center for East Asian Research and the Asia Center. He directed the American Assembly on China in November 1996 and the Joint Chinese-American Assembly between China and the United States in 1998.

"The Quiet Death of Economic Reform in China: Can it be Revived?"
Feb. 27, 2012
In his lecture, Professor Minxin Pei discussed China's economic development, pointing out that the causes of the demise of economic reforms are more fundamental and originated in the nature of the political regime. As long as China retains its current Leninist political system, Pei argued that genuine market-oriented reforms are impossible.

Film: Kuqi de Nüren (Crying Woman)
Feb. 2, 2012
Banned in China, Beijing filmmaker Liu Bingjian’s third feature has struck a chord for its humorous and honest portrayal of Chinese life.

"China’s National Security Making Process"
Feb. 1, 2012
Mr. David Finkelstein is Vice President of the Center for Naval Analyses and Director of CNA China Studies and spoke about his work as a U.S. Army China Foreign Area Officer serving the Secretary of Defense as Assistant Defense Intelligence Officer for East Asia and the Pacific and on the Joint Staff as Director for Asian Studies.

"Hong Kong: Trusted Business Partner and Gateway to China"
Feb. 1, 2012
In his lecture, Commissioner Donald Tong discussed Hong Kong's role as a gateway to China and provided an update on the latest development and business opportunities in the region.

"Methodology and Practice in Blueprint Development for Building Up Carbon Cities in China" (Video)
Jan. 26, 2012
Professor Ji Zou is the China Country Director of World Resources Institute (WRI) and Professor of Environmental Economics and Management at Renmin University of China, Beijing. Spoke on China’s carbon cities and his role in the UN Climate Talks.

"Why Taiwan Matters: Analysis of the January 14 Presidential Elections and Taiwan’s Future"
Jan. 23, 2012
How did Taiwan become a key economic and political player on the global stage, producing breakthroughs so impressive they have been called “miracles”? In this talk, Professor Shelley Rigger reviewed Taiwan’s past and present, and offer a hot-off-the presses analysis of Taiwan’s January 14 presidential and legislative elections.

"China’s Economic Achievements and Current Challenges"
Jan. 17, 2012
Professor Wu Jinglian is China’s most famous economist. He discussed the design and implementation of China’s market reforms in the 1980s and 1990s and China’s lack of progress in economic and political reform.

"The Outcome and Implications of the UN Conference on Climate Change in Durban" (Video)
Jan. 10, 2012
Dr. Lu Xuedu introduced the main conclusions and provisions of the Durban package and analyzed its impacts and implications on energy development, technology research and development, carbon market development, and economic development as well as the possible impacts on the political relationship among the groups of countries involved.

"China’s New ‘Assertiveness’ Toward its Asian Neighbors"
Dec. 1, 2011
Dr. Paul Heer, the senior-most official responsible for providing the American government with information and analysis on China and the rest of East Asia, offered his assessment of the evolving dynamic between China, the U.S., and East Asian countries.

"China’s Sustainable Development in the Context of Rapid Economic Growth" [Video]
Nov. 29, 2011
Over the three decades development, China has become the No. 2 economy as well as the No.1 energy consumer and pollution emitter in the world. In this lecture, Professor Ma Zhong spoke on the environmental costs and constraints of the economic growth in China, and the challenges and possibilities for China’s sustainable development.

"Environmental Policy Making in China"
Nov. 21, 2011
Speaker: Ma Zhong; Panelists: Susan Shirk, Barry Naughton, and Junjie Zhang
This event discussed the decision-making process in Beijing and at local levels is essential for projecting how well China will clean up and reduce the environmental harm left behind from its rapid economic growth.

"China and Global Health in the 21st Century"
Nov. 8, 2011
Speaker: Ray Yip; Panelists: Gordon McCord, Susan Shirk, Tom Novotny, Yuhong Jiang
This seminar and panel discussion reviewed China’s progress in domestic health development, its changing geopolitical role, and its efforts in health diplomacy.