Search

The Paris Climate Agreement marked a breakthrough in international cooperation on climate change, with 196 states and the European Union negotiating a pact in December 2015 to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. The United States and China, the top two emitters of greenhouse gases on the planet, announced their intentions to join the agreement in April 2016. Since then, President Donald Trump has vowed to withdraw from the agreement, while China has reaffirmed its commitment to meeting the targets outlined within. Dr. Kelly Sims Gallagher of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, and a senior policy advisor on science and technology to the Obama administration during the talks, provides insight into the negotiation process. She describes the steps taken to reach the agreement, and the alternating progress and stagnation in Chinese and American climate policies in the years since.

In an interview on CNN's Quest Means Business, Stephen Orlins, president of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, reflects on whether trade talks between the two countries could be extended and explains why tensions with Huawei embody a "downward spiral." Recorded 2/19/19.

The Council on Foreign Relations' inaugural C.V. Starr & Co. Annual Lecture on China featured NCUSCR President Stephen Orlins and Director Elizabeth Economy, as well as Ely Ratner and Nicholas Kristof for a panel discussion on the future of U.S.-China relations amidst ongoing trade frictions, tensions in the South China Sea, and political, demographic, and economic developments within China itself.

Spring 2019 (Outbound) Participant bios Fellows and their home/host organizations

China's high-tech industries have grown rapidly in recent years, as companies like Tencent and Alibaba achieve global name recognition and the quality of the country's digital infrastructure improves.