Amb. Robert Blackwill on Implementing Grand Strategy Toward China

In this podcast, Ambassador Robert Blackwill sits down with NCUSCR President Steve Orlins to discuss his recent report, "Implementing Grand Strategy Toward China: Twenty-Two U.S. Policy Prescriptions," published by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in January 2020. Ambassador Blackwill shares how his report has been received by both critics and proponents of engagement with China, and expands on his analysis of China's increasingly assertive international presence. On February 13, 2020, Ambassador Blackwill presented his report during a program at the National Committee. The full video can be found at www.ncuscr.video/ambblackwill. Ambassador Blackwill is the Henry A. Kissinger senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at CFR and the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation Distinguished Scholar at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Ambassador Blackwill was deputy assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor for strategic planning under President George W. Bush; he also served as presidential envoy to Iraq. Dr. Blackwill joined the National Security Council after serving as the U.S. ambassador to India from 2001 to 2003.

Ambassador Robert Blackwill | Implementing Grand Strategy Toward China

Over the past few years, China has lost some of the key constituents that have supported constructive U.S.-China relations in recent decades, from the business sector to the academic field. As China has grown stronger economically, politically, and militarily, its increasingly muscular foreign policy has given many Americans pause. OnFebruary 13, the National Committee held a program withAmbassador Robert Blackwill during which he discussed how the United States should respond, as per the twenty-two policy prescriptions that form his proposed "Grand Strategy Toward China." The program was based on Blackwill's report of the same name, published by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in January 2020. Robert Blackwill is the Henry A. Kissinger senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at CFR and the Diller–von Furstenberg Family Foundation Distinguished Scholar at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Ambassador ...

Daniel Rosen | The Phase-One Deal and China's Evolving Economic Model

Leading Chinese and American economists convened in New York City on January 9 at the Forecast of China's Economy for 2020, hosted by the National Committee and the China Center for Economic Research. During the Forecast’s first panel, Daniel Rosen presented a preliminary analysis of the phase-one trade deal in light of China’s ongoing negotiation between statism and industrial policy, capitalism and the free market. Daniel Rosen is a founding partner of Rhodium Group.

Nicholas Lardy | China's Economic Slowdown

Leading Chinese and American economists convened in New York on January 9 at the Forecast of China's Economy for 2020, hosted by the National Committee and the China Center for Economic Research. During the Forecast’s first panel, Dr. Nicholas Lardy presented an overview of his research on China’s economic slowdown. Dr. Lardy is the Anthony M. Solomon Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and a Vice Chair on the National Committee’s board of directors.

The Power of Place: Contentious Politics in Twentieth-Century Shanghai and Bombay

What do patterns of political contention look like? Over the course of the twentieth century, protests and social movements in Shanghai and Bombay changed with the commodification of urban land. In his new book,The Power of Place: Contentious Politics in Twentieth-Century Shanghai and Bombay,Mark Frazierexamines changes in political geographies and patterns of popular protest in the two cities, analyzing debates over ideology, citizenship, and political representation, and comparing clashes over housing, jobs, policing, and public space. On October 3, 2019, Dr. Mark Frazier presented his analysis, updating his findings with comparison to the recent protests in Hong Kong.

Jude Blanchette | China’s New Red Guards: The Return of Radicalism and the Rebirth of Mao Zedong

In his recent book,China’s New Red Guards: The Return of Radicalism and the Rebirth of Mao Zedong,Jude D. Blanchetteargues that China’s growing authoritarianism draws directly from the Mao era. Under President Xi Jinping, state control over the economy is increasing, civil society is shrinking, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is expanding its reach in new ways. As Mr. Blanchette describes, nationalist intellectuals and activists have fed a populism that rejects Western notions of political pluralism, the rule of law, and a market economy. They draw on Mao’s writings and policies in support of a powerful CCP overseeing every aspect of Chinese society and politics. On September 18, 2019, the National Committee hosted a conversation with Jude Blanchette about his new book and Mao’s influence on contemporary Chinese politics and society. Watch event video. Jude D. Blanchette is the Freeman Chair of China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washingt...

Matt Sheehan | The Transpacific Experiment: How China and California Collaborate and Compete for Our Future

Entrepreneurs, students, local politicians, and others in California and China are forging connections across a wide array of fields. Who are these people? What do their activities mean for the bilateral relationship and the world in the 21stcentury? JournalistMatt Sheehantells the stories of some of the individuals tying our two countries together in his new book,The Transpacific Experiment: How China and California Collaborate and Compete for Our Future.Mr. Sheehan selects a few people in the real estate, film, AI, and electric vehicle industries to illustrate the relationship’s complexity. On September 10, 2019, Matt Sheehan discussed his new book, and offered his analysis of how individuals on both sides of the Pacific compete as well as cooperate. Matt Sheehanis a fellow at the Paulson Institute’s think tank, MacroPolo, where he leads the team’s work on U.S.-China technology issues, specializing in artificial intelligence. Based in Oakland, he was formerly the China correspo...

Dr. Ezra Vogel | China and Japan: Facing History

Professor Ezra F. Vogelbegins his new book on China and Japan in the sixth century when the Japanese adopted basic elements of Chinese civilization. Throughout the ensuing centuries, China generally took the leading role. Tables turned by the end of the 19th century, when Japan’s modernization efforts surpassed those of China, leading to Japanese victory in the 1895 Sino-Japanese war. Despite recent efforts to promote trade and even tourism, the bitter legacy of World War II has made cooperation difficult. InChina and Japan: Facing History,Dr. Vogel argues that the two nations must forge a new relationship as the world confronts transnational issues including climate change, disaster relief, global economic development, and scientific research. Without acknowledging and ultimately transcending the frictions of the past and present, tense relations between China and Japan jeopardize global stability. On September 4, 2019, Dr. Ezra Vogel presented his findings on how the history of S...

Winston Lord | Kissinger on Kissinger: Reflections on Diplomacy, Grand Strategy, and Leadership

In the 1970s, President Richard Nixon’s national security advisor, Dr. Henry Kissinger, steered U.S. foreign policy through challenging times, reshaping the country’s policies on China, Vietnam, the Soviet Union, and the Middle East. Working by his side throughout was Ambassador Winston Lord, then special assistant to the national security advisor and director of the State Department’s policy planning staff. In a new collection of interviews, Kissinger on Kissinger: Reflections on Diplomacy, Grand Strategy, and Leadership, Ambassador Lord chronicles Dr. Kissinger’s diplomatic adventures. Understanding Dr. Kissinger’s thoughts on leadership and strategy provides a timely lens through which to view today’s challenging geopolitical landscape. Winston Lord has had a long and varied career in and out of government, serving as special assistant to the national security advisor (1970-73) and director of the State Department policy planning staff under President Nixon (1973-77), ambas...

Ambassador Thomas Pickering: 2019 U.S. Foreign Policy Colloquium Keynote Address

In his keynote speech at the U.S. Foreign Policy Colloquium on May 30, 2019, Ambassador Thomas Pickering explains the shift towards multi-polarity in the current world order and highlights seven key issues, from growth and development to weapons of mass destruction, confronting U.S. foreign policy. He discusses how some of these issues can be potential areas for collaboration between the U.S. and China, including climate change and cyberspace. The annual U.S. Foreign Policy Colloquium (FPC) is an exclusive four-day program designed to provide 75 Chinese graduate students from universities across the United States with a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the complex forces that shape American foreign policy and inform the U.S.-China relationship. The program is run annually by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and gives participants rare access into some of the capital's most important foreign policy-making institutions, such as the Department of State and the Nat...