March 2021 e-Newsletter

The recent overthrow of Myanmar's democratically-elected government by military coup leaders poses challenges and uncertainties for China-Myanmar relations. Geographical proximity, as well as complicated historical, ethnic, political, and economic ties mean that whoever leads in Naypyidaw will seek positive relations with Beijing.

Yun Sun, Senior Fellow and Co-Director of the East Asia Program and Director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, and National Committee Public Intellectuals Program Fellow, discusses the February 1 coup and the potential impact on Sino-American relations in an interview conducted on March 5, 2021.

Watch the interview | Listen to the podcast

Please continue to check our website for more information about upcoming programs. 

The National Committee on United States-China Relations is pleased to announce the seventh round of its Public Intellectuals Program (PIP). We are looking for China specialists – in the academic, professional, or policymaking spheres – who have the interest and potential to play significant roles as public intellectuals. Twenty next-generation American China scholars who, in the tradition of earlier China hands, wish to venture outside of academia or their profession into areas relevant to foreign policy and public education, will be selected for the program.

For more information, eligibility, and how to apply, click here. The application deadline is April 18, 2021.The Public Intellectuals Program is generously funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York.

As part of its monthly Congressional staff briefing series, the National Committee invited experts James Millward (Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University), Rayhan Asat (American Turkic Bar Association), and Michael Posner (Stern School of Business, New York University) to discuss the situation in Xinjiang, its implication for U.S. multinationals, and policy options for Congress and the Executive Branch.

Fentanyl, a highly potent opioid with legitimate pain management uses, is the most common cause of overdose deaths in the United States, accounting for 37,000 in 2019 alone. Since 2013, China has been the primary source for legal and illegal fentanyl in the United States. As America's opioid epidemic continues, several questions have emerged: Who is manufacturing the drug and why? How does it get from China into the United States? What efforts have China and the United States made together to combat illegal use?

The National Committee held a virtual program on February 24, 2021 with Vanda Felbab-Brown and Ben Westhoff, moderated by Emily Feng, to explore the current status of the opioid epidemic, bilateral efforts to curb the supply of fentanyl in the United States, and the prospects for effective solutions.

Event video  |  Event podcast

In a belated celebration of his 90th birthday and his extraordinary contributions to the development of law in China and to U.S.-China relations, the National Committee hosted a virtual discussion with America’s leading expert on Chinese law, Jerome A. Cohen, on February 16, 2021. Professor Cohen conversed with his former student, National Committee President Steve Orlins, about his six decades of studying Chinese law, government, and society, and his reflections on living in China, prospects for the evolution of law in there, and the future of Sino-American relations.

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Professor Ezra F. Vogel (1930-2020), a specialist on modern China and Japan, received his Ph.D. in sociology from Harvard in 1958, and was a professor there from 1967 to 2000, when he became the Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences Emeritus. During a two-year leave from 1993 to 1995, he served as the National Intelligence Officer for East Asia.

Professor Vogel was devoted to the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations as one of its earliest members, board member and vice chair, and advisory committee member for the Committee’s Public Intellectuals Program since its 2004 inception.

The National Committee held a virtual program on February 10, 2021 with Graham Allison, Thomas Gold, Melinda Liu, and Michael Szonyi and moderated by NCUSCR Vice President Jan Berris to celebrate and remember teacher/mentor/public servant/friend Professor Ezra Vogel.

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