Political and economic relations between U.S. and China.
St. Joe’s hosted the 11th annual CHINA Town Hall on Oct. 24. Both students and faculty participated and listened to a wide ranging conversation about United States-China relations.
The CHINA Town Hall was established by the National Committee of U.S.-China relations to “provide Americans an opportunity to learn about and reflect on the Sino-American relationship.” This event was held simultaneously at 85 other venues across 40 states, setting a record for the largest CHINA Town Hall to date.
The event featured local speaker Jacques deLisle of Penn Law School who described the the current state of relations in 2017 between the two nations in one word: ambivalent.
“I mean that not in the sense of who cares,” deLisle said. “But in the strong sense of ambivalence that there are highly positive things and highly negative things that coexist.”
deLisle elaborated on this statement by highlighting attributes of the relationship.
“Politically, the U.S.-China relationship is a remarkable thing, to have the two greatest powers not be rivals and enemies, so we don’t have to worry about tensions,” deLisle said. “At the same time, there are some really troubling things like the economic relationship, which has a lot of strains.”
According to deLisle, the U.S. has many complaints about the problems of its economic relationship and cooperative arrangements with China. deLisle said these arrangements were unravelling.
“When a previously dominant country like the U.S. goes into decline then China rises,” deLisle said. “And when that happens historically, it’s been an occasion for some risk and crisis.”
Former United Nations Ambassador and National Security Adviser under former President Obama, Susan E. Rice, was the 2017 National Webcast Speaker. This webcast was moderated by Stephen A. Orlins, resident of the National Committee on U.S.-China relations.
Participants across the country connected with the webcast via Twitter and were given the opportunity to ask questions.
Ambassador Rice provided answers to the questions asked, based on her past experiences in government and working with China.
Organizer James Carter Ph.D., history professor and program director of Asian studies, organized the event, and was satisfied with the level of participation.
“I’m really pleased that we’ve been able to take part in this for so long, but I’m especially pleased with the turnout tonight,” Carter said. “We had about 50 people on a night where there was a lot happening on campus and I think that it shows that there’s interest in international affairs and affairs to do with China.”
Carter believes events like this benefit students of the St. Joe’s community.
“It really shows them not only the kind of opportunities and expertise that there is on campus and in the area,” Carter said. “But also additional opportunities like studying Chinese or to study abroad for a semester in China.”