National Committee on U.S.-China Relations

China’s rapid economic growth that has accompanied its “Reform and Opening” over the last four decades is the subject of millions of pages of discussion and analysis. Yet it is rarely contextualized within the long arc of China’s quest for modernity stretching back at least to the mid-19th century. Long before Deng Xiaoping’s reforms, enterprising Chinese engaged the outside world through trade, e...

After the United States and China established diplomatic relations in 1979, those who had left China around 1949 were able to visit family members who had remained in China. Three decades of separation gave rise to many unanswered questions on both sides. One such question inspired young journalist Jennifer Lin: “Do you have any idea what happened to us?” she was asked at a family reunion in Shang...

On May 12, 2008, a massive earthquake rocked central Sichuan, killing 87,000 people and leaving five million homeless in the second worst natural disaster in China’s modern history (the first was the Tangshan earthquake of 1976). As news of the event spread, hundreds of thousands of volunteers poured into Sichuan from all over China to help wherever they were needed. Many cooked, cleaned, and care...

Between ballooning debt to GDP ratios, overinvestment in the property market, and industrial overcapacity, the uneven structure of China’s economic growth provides plenty of reasons for concern. Yet so far, China’s unique blend of state-led and laissez-faire capitalism has proved remarkably strong, defying numerous predictions of imminent economic catastrophe. In a new book, Will China’s Economy C...

Much has been written about the dynamics that have traditionally defined U.S.-China relations. But as China adopts a more activist foreign policy and increasingly seeks investment opportunities around the world, new theatres of cooperation and contention are coming into play. In a series of three edited volumes, David Denoon explores the interests and policies of the United States and China in Cen...

Modern China historian Jeffrey Wasserstrom and the New Yorker magazine’s Jiayang Fan joined the National Committee for a discussion of how international ambitions, a contentious historical legacy, and official doctrine fuel common misconceptions about U.S.-China relations on December 12, 2016. Despite more than 300,000 Chinese students currently studying in the United States, increasingly integrat...

Noted China expert Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Chancellor’s Professor of History at the University of California, Irvine, discusses relations between China and America in the dawning era of Xi and Trump, in an interview with National Committee on U.S.-China Relations Senior Director for Education Programs, Margot Landman, on December 12, 2016. Jeffrey Wasserstrom is Chancellor's Professor of History at t...

On Sunday, February 25, 2018, the world learned that the Chinese Constitution would be amended to allow the president and vice president to stay in office beyond two terms (ten years) – the limit established in the 1982 constitutional revision. On Thursday, March 1, President Trump announced that the United States would impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminu...

In this podcast interview with National Committee President Stephen Orlins, Professor David Denoon discusses Chinese and American interests in Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and South America, adding another dimension to the study of the bilateral relationship. Much has been written about the dynamics that have traditionally defined U.S.-China relations. But as China adopts a more activist foreign...

Between ballooning debt to GDP ratios, overinvestment in the property market, and industrial overcapacity, the uneven structure of China’s economic growth provides plenty of reasons for concern. Yet so far, China’s unique blend of state-led and laissez-faire capitalism has proved remarkably strong, defying numerous predictions of imminent economic catastrophe. In a new book, Will China’s Economy C...

China’s rapid economic growth that has accompanied its “Reform and Opening” over the last four decades is the subject of millions of pages of discussion and analysis. Yet it is rarely contextualized within the long arc of China’s quest for modernity stretching back at least to the mid-19th century. Long before Deng Xiaoping’s reforms, enterprising Chinese engaged the outside world through trade, e...

After the United States and China established diplomatic relations in 1979, those who had left China around 1949 were able to visit family members who had remained in China. Three decades of separation gave rise to many unanswered questions on both sides. One such question inspired young journalist Jennifer Lin: “Do you have any idea what happened to us?” she was asked at a family reunion in Shang...

On May 12, 2008, a massive earthquake rocked central Sichuan, killing 87,000 people and leaving five million homeless in the second worst natural disaster in China’s modern history (the first was the Tangshan earthquake of 1976). As news of the event spread, hundreds of thousands of volunteers poured into Sichuan from all over China to help wherever they were needed. Many cooked, cleaned, and care...

Over the last three and a half decades, China’s rise has largely been underpinned by two great transitions: from socialism to capitalism, and from agriculture to industry. The workplace and the institutions that govern it have served as the critical link that enabled these transitions to take place. As these processes continue, the interests of the central government and Chinese workers have conve...

On Sunday, February 25, 2018, the world learned that the Chinese Constitution would be amended to allow the president and vice president to stay in office beyond two terms (ten years) – the limit established in the 1982 constitutional revision. On Thursday, March 1, President Trump announced that the United States would impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminu...

Interviewed by National Committee Senior Director for Education Programs Margot Landman, Tobie Meyer-Fong discusses her new book, What Remains: Coming to Terms with Civil War in 19th Century China. Meyer-Fong explores the human impact of the Taiping Rebellion, in which some 30 million people died, on those who remained after the fighting ended; how did individuals, families and communities grapple...

William C. Kirby is T. M. Chang Professor of China Studies at Harvard University and Spangler Family Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. A historian of modern China, Professor Kirby's work examines China's business, economic, and political development in an international context. Can China Lead?: Reaching the Limits of Power and Growth asserts that while China has...

Over the past decades China has experienced massive urbanization: its cities are now home to 10% of the world's population and around 50% of China's population. In this podcast Dr. Wu Weiping, professor of urban and environmental policy and planning at Tufts University and senior fellow at the Center for Emerging Market Enterprises at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, explores the dynamism...

Join National Committee Senior Director for Education Programs Margot Landman as she interviews Jessica Chen Weiss, assistant professor of political science at Yale, about her book, Powerful Patriots: Nationalist Protest in China's Foreign Relations. Dr. Weiss discusses Chinese government management of nationalist, anti-foreign protests and their diplomatic consequences from 1985 to 2012. She argu...

Commentators have long debated whether the space for civil society is growing or shrinking in China, or whether the concept of civil society is even relevant to China. But to many of those working in the civil society sector in China, the picture is quite clear. Two major trends are emerging in China's civil society space: the rapid growth of grassroots NGOs and the increased use of public advocac...

Donald Gross, senior associate at Pacific Forum CSIS, discusses his book The China Fallacy: How the U.S. Can Benefit from China's Rise and Avoid Another Cold War with National Committee Vice President Jan Berris. Gross warns against attempts to contain China. He calls, instead, for a stable peace with China that will bring greater American and Chinese prosperity consistent with principles for good...

China has big plans for hydropower development on the Lancang (Upper Mekong) River, which after flowing south out of Yunnan Province traverses Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Find out about these plans and the implications for relations between China and its downriver neighbors on this NCUSCR China podcast.

The rapid development of China's wind-power sector has created a world-class industry with the promise to make low-carbon technology more affordable and available both in China and around the world. Author Joanna Lewis, assistant professor of science, technology and international affairs at Georgetown University, discusses the findings of her book, Green Innovation in China: China's Wind Power Ind...

China's management of urbanization is an under-appreciated factor in the regime's longevity. The Chinese Communist Party fears the emergence of unequal megacities with their attendant slums and social unrest, as has occurred in many cities around the world, because such cities might threaten the survival of the regime. To combat the threat, many regimes, including China's, adopt policies that favo...

China's Taiping Rebellion (1850-64) was one of the largest civil wars in history and had global repercussions that echo in China's politics and foreign policy today. In this podcast, Dr. Stephen Platt, author of the acclaimed Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom discusses how the violent rebellion affected China and other countries at the time in ways that continue to resonate. Dr. Platt is associate pr...