The Wilson China Fellowship Conference 2022

Join us for inaugural session of the 2nd annual Wilson China Fellowship where we will be joined by a panel of experts to discuss the state of U.S.-China relations amidst increasing competition across a wide swathe of policy issues.

In our opening session on the rise of China moderated by Abraham M. Denmark, Vice President of Programs and Director of Studies at the Wilson Center, we are honored to be joined by keynote speaker David M. Lampton, Professor Emeritus of China Studies at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies,  and our panel of experts, Stephen Del Rosso, Program Director for International Peace and Security at the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Ambassador Mark Green, President and CEO of the Wilson Center, and Laura Rosenberger, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for China and Taiwan on the National Security Council (NSC) at the White House.

Grappling with the rise of China, its implications, and the U.S. response to it constitute the key objectives of the Wilson China Fellowship and the programming for the following two days. We are excited to introduce the Conference with our expert discussion of China, the role of academia in China policy, and the future of U.S.-China relations.

Increasingly, U.S.-China competition dominates all spheres of the relationship, including economy, trade, and technology. During the Trump administration, the United States launched a trade war against China in response to alleged unfair trade practices, some of which may emanate from China’s state capitalist system. Under the Biden administration, these tensions with Beijing have only continued to simmer. Most notably, the United States recently moved to ban Huawei and ZTE from acquiring approval for network equipment licenses domestically.

Furthermore, a conversation around decoupling and shifting strategic supply chains away from China has emerged in recent years. Importantly, China’s growing authoritarianism and international assertiveness drive this conversation, as numerous examples of Beijing’s censorship damaging U.S. companies ranging from the hospitality industry to Hollywood attest.

These developments raise important policy questions about the rise of China, the future of the global economy, and the impact of increasing competition on economic, trade, and technology policies. Join us as Robert Daly, Director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States moderates a discussion on these issues and more featuring Michael Beckley, Associate Professor at Tufts University; Ling Chen, Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University; Aynne Kokas, Associate Professor at the University of Virginia; and Jack Zhang, Assistant Professor at the University of Kansas.

From President Nixon’s outreach to China in the 1970s to the Obama administration, U.S. policy predominantly favored engagement with Beijing in the belief that sustained engagement would moderate China’s behavior over time to mold it into what some termed a “responsible stakeholder” in the international system. However, with the Trump administration’s elevation of “great power competition” and President Xi Jinping’s increasing assertiveness and authoritarianism over the past decade, a majority of policymakers in Washington now identify Beijing as a strategic competitor for the foreseeable future, likely to stretch throughout the coming decades.

This profound rethinking towards China raises a number of important questions about the future of U.S.-China relations and the wider international order. What explains this shift in views? Does competition mean there is no room for cooperation? What kinds of impacts will this have on issues where the United States and China share mutual interests, such as pandemic response? Can we realistically expect China to alter or moderate its behavior in the future, and under what conditions?

Join us as Abraham Denmark, Vice President for Programs and Director of Studies at the Wilson Center moderates a discussion on these issues and more featuring David Bulman, Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University; Dimitar Gueorguiev, Assistant Professor at Syracuse University; David McCourt, Associate Professor at the University of California-Davis; and Deborah Seligsohn, Assistant Professor at Villanova University.

Since Xi Jinping assumed the triad of crucial positions—General Secretary of the CCP, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and President of the PRC—atop the Chinese political hierarchy in 2013, many commentators and analysts have noted a reassertion of the Party’s dominant role throughout Chinese society. President Xi has abandoned previous norms surrounding collective leadership and term limits in favor of assuming more personal power. There are few if any signs of a reversal in these trends as Xi gears up for a third term in leadership. Over the past decade, these efforts have manifested in efforts by the Chinese government to control historical memory, repaint the Party’s past, alter policymaking practices, and assert greater control over many facets of life in China, most notably in Hong Kong.

These developments naturally raise many questions about China’s future. Are Xi’s efforts truly unprecedented, or merely continuations of previous policy trends? How much can be explained by Xi’s own background and personality? What role do the Party’s narratives and historical memory about itself play here? Is power and decision-making solely up to Xi and collective leadership cast aside, or do other actors play a role?

Please join us as Charles Kraus, Deputy Director of the History and Public Policy Program, moderates a discussion featuring Macabe Keliher, Assistant Professor at Southern Methodist University; Emily Matson, Adjunct Professor at William & Mary; Kacie Miura, Assistant Professor at the University of San Diego; and Joseph Torigian, Assistant Professor at American University.

The conference will not meet on Tuesday, February 15th. Sessions resume on Wednesday, February 16th at 10 am Eastern time.

As the soon-to-be largest economy, China has embarked on a wide-ranging outreach to the Global South. Presenting itself as a fellow developing country, Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) promises to transform the global economy and China’s ties to the developing world. The BRI purports to “promote the connectivity of Asian, European, and African continents and their adjacent seas…The connectivity projects of the Initiative will help align and coordinate the development strategies of [participating] countries.” With hundreds of billions of dollars in promised investments, the enterprise has been welcomed by a variety of countries in the Global South badly in need of infrastructure and foreign direct investment.

However, the BRI often comes with strings attached and critics argue that Beijing draws more benefit from its projects than partner countries do. Indeed, the conversation around “debt diplomacy,” unsustainable mega-projects, environmental damage, and a penchant for under delivering on its promises plagues the BRI’s reputation. This begs the question, what exactly is China’s relationship with the Global South and the developing world? Are its narratives as a developing country a genuine source for positive diplomatic ties, or merely a cover for Beijing’s interests? Has China’s rise been economically beneficial for developing countries? Does China intend to address concerns about the environmental and social costs of its investments? Or, has the BRI provided cover for the expansion of Chinese interests in the Global South?

Join us as Jennifer Turner, Director of the Wilson Center’s China Environment Forum, moderates a discussion on these issues and more featuring Meir Alkon, Assistant Professor at Fordham University; Kristen Hopewell, Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia; Austin Strange, Assistant Professor at the University of Hong Kong; and Emily Wilcox, Associate Professor at the William & Mary.

Southeast Asia lies at China’s doorstep, and each of its countries maintain diverse and complex relationships with Beijing. Ranging from a rising security threat in the South China Sea to welcome economic investor elsewhere, China’s rise significantly impacts for the region. Some countries welcome China’s role while others try to balance against it, but none can ignore it.

In recent years, China’s more assertive foreign policy under Xi Jinping has elicited some concern in Southeast Asian capitals. The Belt and Road Initiative’s billions of dollars’ worth of investments have sparked concerns about “debt traps” and unsustainable environmental damage. In the South China Sea, China’s hardline stance towards other claimant states, most notably Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam undermines its relations in the region. These developments have arguably brought the region to the forefront of international politics. Indeed, China’s growing power has drawn in a U.S. response with a commensurate impact on the ground. A few pressing questions now emerge: What are the impacts of Chinese investments in the region: positive, negative, or both? How should the United States approach relations with Southeast Asia and, in particular, China’s investments in the region?

Join us as Lucas Myers, Program Coordinator and Associate for Southeast Asia, moderates a discussion on these issues and more featuring Darcie DeAngelo, Assistant Professor at the University of Oklahoma;Tyler Harlan, Assistant Professor at Loyola Marymount University;Juliet Lu, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Cornell University; Renard Sexton, Assistant Professor at Emory University; andPon Souvannaseng, Assistant Professor at Bentley University.

With China’s rise a monumental shift in the global balance of power across economics, hard power, and soft power, its implications for global governance, democracy, and civil society are similarly vast. In particular, Beijing appears dedicated towards molding the international order to suit its interests, most notably its preference for norms of “state sovereignty” and “non-interference”. As such, it has engaged the United Nations, expanded its footprint in a wide range of international institutions, and worked to erode democratic and liberal norms. Simultaneously, it has worked to shape and alter global governance surrounding economics, development, and the international financial system. More worryingly, it has extended its reach to crackdown on dissidents abroad, such as its actions under the auspices of the Hong Kong National Security Law.

What are the implications of China’s rise on global governance? How is China impacting global democracy and civil society? Will China continue to assert its right to punish dissidents beyond China’s borders? What are some of the implications for Chinese diaspora communities? What might global governance look like under the influence of a more powerful Beijing?

Join us as Robert Daly, Director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, moderates a discussion on these issues and more featuring Diana Fu, associate professor at the University of Toronto; Tobias Smith, Assistant Professor, Administration of Justice, Ohlone College; Austin Wang, assistant professor at the University of Nevada; and Audrye Wong, assistant professor at the University of Southern California.