Recent Events

Not since Nixon met Mao in ’72 have the top leaders from the United States and China engaged in such extended informal discussions as they did last week at Sunnylands. On Thursday, June 13, at 5 p.m. EDT, the National Committee offered a discussion with two of the United States’ most thoughtful and best informed […]

China is undergoing the largest migration in human history: Since the mid-1980s, roughly 300 million people have moved from China's countryside into its cities; between now and 2025, its expected that another 300 million Chinese will make their ways in. Without appropriate urban planning, design, and construction focused on sustainable development, the consequences of this massive urbanization could be dire for China and the world.

In The Silk Road: A Very Short Introduction James Millward explores the historical background against which the silk road flourished, discusses the significance of old-world intercultural exchange, and puts the silk road into the context of world history. Professor Millward will discuss the historical significance and contemporary uses of the silk road at a National Committee program on May 16 at the Institute of International Education in New York City. Click below for a podcast interview with James Millward:

Lee Kuan Yew, the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, is known around the world as an innovative leader and respected scholar of global strategy. Lee has been a mentor to every Chinese leader from Deng Xiaoping to Xi Jinping, and a counselor to every U.S. president from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama.

In her new book, Civil Society in China: The Legal Framework from Ancient Times to the “New Reform Era,” Catholic University Professor Karla Simon provides both an historical and contemporary analysis of the legal framework for civil society and citizen participation in China. At a National Committee public program on May 2, Professor Simon discussed […]

The United States-China relationship is at a critical juncture as both countries undergo great changes. At a National Committee program on April 10, Scott Kennedy and He Fan discussed the tensions and challenges in the relationship and offer policy recommendations from their new report, part of the Initiative on China and Global Governance project. Professors […]

At a National Committee program on Monday, March 18 Richard Bush, a senior fellow at Brookings, discussed his new book at Dorsey & Whitney in New York City.

In 2008 when Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Chancellor’s Professor of History at the University of California, Irvine, was working on his book, China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know, China was in the headlines: it was the year of the Olympic Games, a major earthquake in Sichuan, demonstrations in Tibet, environmental protests in the Yangzi Delta, and nationalist outbursts in Beijing.

Over the past decades China has experienced massive urbanization: its cities are now home to 10% of the world’s population and over 50% of the Chinese population. In The Chinese City, Weiping Wu and Piper Gaubatz explore how Chinese cities display unprecedented dynamism under the country’s growing economic power, challenging conventional urban theories and experiences of cities elsewhere. Dr. Wu discussed her new book at a National Committee program on Thursday, February 21 at the Henry Luce Foundation.

Since 2007, the National Committee has run a series of multi-day briefings for mid-career officers in the United States armed services who have been fast-tracked for top leadership positions. The purpose of these seminars is to provide the participants with a general background on China and to brief them on issues not conventionally covered in their military training – such as China’s domestic politics, economic development, business and trade, foreign policy, rule of law, growth of civil society, environmental concerns and climate change, energy, and the use of soft power.

As the greatest coal producing and consuming nation in the world, China would seem an unlikely haven for wind power. Yet the country now boasts a world-class industry that promises to make low-carbon technology more affordable and available to all.

Christine Loh, undersecretary for the environment in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, discussed recent developments in Hong Kong as well as environmental issues in Hong Kong and neighboring Guangdong Province on Thursday, February 7 in New York. This National Committee event was co-sponsored by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office.