China Town Hall: Local Connections, National Reflections

Sponsored by The National Committee on United States China Relations and co-sponsored by the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations, the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies, UCLA School of Law, the USC U.S.-China Institute, the Asia Society of Southern California, and the Richard C. Rudolph East Asian Library.

ABOUT CHINA TOWN HALL

China’s rapid emergence as a global player and potential partner on many U.S. policy priorities has ensured that the Sino-American relationship will have a direct impact on the lives of nearly everyone in both Countries. To help Americans better understand the complex U.S.-China relationship, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations is conducting the tenth annual CHINA Town Hall: Local Connections, National Reflections at more than 70 locations nationwide. The program will feature a live webcast discussion with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, moderated by National Committee President Stephen Orlins, followed by an in-person lecture by UCSD economist and professor Barry Naughton.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

3:45PM - Introductions

4:00PM - 5:00PM

DR. HENRY A. KISSINGER was the 56th Secretary of State (1973-1977), the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs under President Nixon (1969-1975), and a member of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (1984-1990). While he was the National Security Advisor, Dr. Kissinger played a crucial role in arranging President Nixon’s 1972 visit to China, which opened the door to the re-establishment of U.S.-China relations. He has served as a member of the Defense Policy Board since 2001. Among the awards Dr. Kissinger has received have been a Bronze Star from the U.S. Army in 1945, the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the nation’s highest civilian award) in 1977, and the Medal of Liberty (given one time to ten foreign-born American leaders) in 1986. He served in the Army from 1943 to 1946. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Harvard College in 1950 and received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University in 1952 and 1954. From 1954 until 1969 he was a member of the faculty of Harvard University, in both the Department of Government and the Center for International Affairs. He was Director of the Harvard International Seminar from 1952 to 1969. At present, Dr. Kissinger is Chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc., an international consulting firm. He is also a member of the International Council of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.; a Counselor to and Trustee of the Center for Strategic and International Studies; an Honorary Governor of the Foreign Policy Association; and an Honor Member of the International Olympic Committee.



5:00PM-6:30PM

PROF. BARRY NAUGHTON is the Sokwanlok Chair of Chinese International Affairs at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California, San Diego. He is one of the world’s most highly respected economists working on China. He is an authority on the Chinese economy with an emphasis on issues relating to industry, trade, finance and China's transition to a market economy. His recent research focuses on regional economic growth in China and its relationship to foreign trade and investment. He has addressed economic reform in Chinese cities, trade and trade disputes between China and the United States and economic interactions among China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Naughton has written the authoritative textbook The Chinese Economy: Transitions and Growth, which has now been translated into Chinese. His groundbreaking book Growing Out of the Plan: Chinese Economic Reform, 1978-1993 received the Ohira Memorial Prize, and he most recently translated, edited and annotated a collection of articles by the well-known Chinese economist Wu Jinglian. Naughton writes a quarterly analysis of the Chinese economy for China Leadership Monitor. He received his B.A. in Chinese Language and Literature from the University of Washington and his Masters in International Relations and Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University.



ABOUT PROFESSOR NAUGHTON'S TALK

Xi Jinping came to office in 2012 with a dual challenge. He had his own ambitious political and economic agenda, but also had to manage the end of China’s ultra-high speed economic growth era. With one year remaining in Xi’s first term, almost none of the ambitious economic reforms have been achieved, yet the economy appears set to perform adequately through the coming year. Has the Xi economy transitioned to a stable “new normal”? Or are deferred problems building up that threaten to disrupt Xi’s second term?

Click here for the Henry Kissinger webcast.

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Duration: 30:36