From Beijing to Washington: What’s Next for U.S.-China Engagement

Following President Donald Trump’s meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing this spring and amid expectations of President Xi’s possible visit to the United States in September, policymakers, businesses, and observers are closely watching the direction of U.S.-China relations. Whether these recent developments signal a lasting shift or simply a limited diplomatic opening remains to be seen. What lies ahead for the world’s most consequential bilateral relationship? Where are the opportunities for renewed dialogue, and where are strategic competition and tensions likely to persist?

Join us on Wednesday, August 12 for a panel of leading experts as they examine the outlook for U.S.-China engagement in the months and years ahead, exploring the implications for diplomacy, trade, security, and Washington state’s economy.

Our speakers include Victor Shih, Director of the 21st Century China Center and Ho Miu Lam Chair in China and Pacific Relations at the University of California, San Diego; Ann Tyson, Beijing Bureau Chief for The Christian Science Monitor; and Nelson Dong, retired partner at Dorsey & Whitney LLP and former head of the firm’s National Security Law Group.

This event is complimentary, but registration is required. Light refreshments will be provided. 

Agenda

5:00 PM               Registration

5:30 – 6:30 PM    Program

Register Here

SPEAKER BIOS

Victor Shih is a professor of political science, director of the 21st Century China Center, and the Ho Miu Lam Chair in China and Pacific Relations at the University of California at San Diego. Victor is an expert on the politics of Chinese banking policies, fiscal policies, and exchange rate, as well as the elite politics of China. He is the author of two books, “Factions and Finance in China: Elite Conflict and Inflation” and “Coalitions of the Weak: Elite Politics in China from Mao’s Stratagem to the Rise of Xi.” He is also editor of “Economic Shocks and Authoritarian Stability: Duration, Institutions and Financial Conditions.” Shih also has published widely in a number of journals, including The American Political Science Review, Comparative Political Studies, Journal of Politics, The China Quarterly, and Party Politics.

Shih is engaged in a study of the activities of the Chinese elite and of Chinese defense firms around the world. He is also maintaining a large database on biographical information of elites in China. He teaches courses including Financing the Chinese Miracle, Chinese Sources and Methods, Chinese Politics and Political Economy of Authoritarian Regimes.

Prior to joining UC San Diego, Shih was a professor of political science at Northwestern University and former principal for The Carlyle Group.

Ann Scott Tyson is the Christian Science Monitor’s Beijing Bureau Chief, covering China and Northeast Asia.

Ann is an award-winning journalist and author whose career includes a decade covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and eight years as a foreign correspondent in China and Asia. Her U.S. beats have included the Pentagon, Congress, and the Midwest. In addition to the Monitor, she has reported for The Washington Post and contributed to The Wall Street Journal. 

Ann is the author of a bestselling Afghanistan war memoir, “American Spartan: The Promise, the Mission, and the Betrayal of Special Forces Major Jim Gant.” She also co-wrote “Chinese Awakenings: Life Stories from the Unofficial China.”

Ann graduated from Harvard College with an honors degree in government and East Asian studies and earned an honors certificate from the Institute of Political Studies in Paris (Sciences Po). She was awarded the Bagehot Fellowship for graduate studies in economics and business at Columbia University and the Rotary Graduate Fellowship at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She speaks Chinese and French.

Nelson Dong is a retired partner with the Dorsey & Whitney law firm where he practiced for over three decades and formerly headed its National Security Law Group.  Before his retirement, he advised companies, professional societies, universities and research organizations on export controls, economic sanctions, national security and international trade and investment matters.  He was also an author and teacher on international technology law issues.  

Nelson was a White House Fellow and U.S. Justice Department official in the Carter Administration responsible for international and national security matters and was a federal prosecutor in Boston. He was also an export control policy advisor to the U.S. Commerce Department and has served as a director of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations in New York City. He has been an adjunct professor of international law at the Seattle University School of Law and has given guest lectures on international and national security law issues at the University of Washington School of Law. He is a director of the Washington State China Relations Council and an advisor to the National Bureau of Asian Research in Seattle and an active member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Committee of 100. He is a Life Member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys and was named a Trailblazer by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. Nelson is a graduate of Stanford University and the Yale Law School and has served as a trustee of Stanford University.