Spring Quarter 2023

Dear UC San Diego,

Welcome to the spring quarter of the 2022-23 academic year! We are excited to share our upcoming events and programs with you, as we have a packed quarter ahead of us.

The winter quarter was filled with engaging public lectures, research workshops and a conference on China's low-carbon transition, all designed to promote understanding of China and its role in the world. The public lecture series concluded with the Robert F. Ellsworth Memorial Lecture by former Acting Assistant Secretary of State Susan Thornton, whose incisive talk called for adjusting U.S. policies toward China. We also released the 2023 China Focus Essay Contest topics, which encourages critical thinking and writing about contemporary issues related to China.

Looking ahead, we have a fantastic lineup of public lectures for the spring quarter. Former CNN Beijing Bureau Chief Mike Chinoy will share the story of American journalists who covered China. Dan Slater and Joseph Wong will discuss why some Asian countries became more democratic as they grew while others did not. We will also hold the second Chou Wen-Chung Distinguished Lecture on Chinese Culture, featuring Bell Yung, who will perform the traditional Chinese guqin and explore the limits of what music can be. 

Additionally, we will have two talks on Taiwan, a topic that is currently on the minds of many. We want to extend a special welcome to several UC San Diego alums — Jeremy Brown, Richard Carney, Scott Kastner and James Lee — returning to campus to give public lectures in the spring.

We have other events planned as well, including a May road tour by five center faculty to New York City and Washington, D.C., to engage with the business and policy communities. We are also actively planning this year’s UC San Diego Forum on U.S.-China Relations in July. Our cooperation with the Fudan-UC Center continues on many fronts, including co-hosting the 2023 U.S.-China Diplomatic Dialogue in June and the Young Scholars’ Conference on Aug. 29-30. 

In addition, we continue to host a series of talks for the university community at our weekly China Research Workshop. If you are interested in staying up to date on the latest research on China, contact us to be added to the mailing list for research workshop announcements.

We welcome you to subscribe to our China 360° bulletin, and check out China Data Lab and the student-led China Focus blogs. We look forward to seeing you on Zoom or in person!

With warm regards,

Susan Shirk, Chair, 21st Century China Center; and

Lei Guang, So Family Executive Director, 21st Century China Center

Assignment China: U.S. Reporters in the PRC

April 6, 2023 from 4-5:30 p.m. PDT

Register: In-Person Event | Register: Zoom Webinar

In this talk, former CNN Beijing Bureau Chief Mike Chinoy will tell the story of American journalists who covered China in their own words.

Modern Asia from Development to Democracy 

April 12, 2023 from 5-6 p.m. PDT

Register: In-Person Event | Register: Zoom Webinar

Dan Slater and Joseph Wong will discuss why some Asian countries became more democratic as they grew, while others — like China — didn’t.

China’s Path to Global Influence 

April 20, 2023 from 4-5 p.m. PDT

Register: In-Person Event | Register: Zoom Webinar

In this talk, Richard Carney will explore how China is acquiring global influence through infrastructure spending and technology exports.

Chou Wen-Chung Distinguished Lecture on Chinese Culture

Redefining Music: Traditional Guqin Music in Performance and Scholarship

May 2, 2023 from 4-6 p.m. PDT

Register: In-Person Event 

World-renowned musician and ethnomusicologist Bell Yung will discuss and perform on one of China's traditional instruments, the guqin. 

Great Power Competition and the Risk of War in the Taiwan Strait

May 11, 2023 from 4-5 p.m. PDT

Register: In-Person Event | Register: Zoom Webinar

James Lee from Academica Sinica in Taiwan will analyze the complex and contradictory ways of seeing Taiwan, which underlie the potential for conflict across the Taiwan Strait.

War and Peace in the Taiwan Strait

May 18, 2023 from 4-5 p.m. PDT

Register: In-Person Event | Register: Zoom Webinar

This talk by Scott Kastner from the University of Maryland, College Park, offers a framework to assess the prospects for military conflict between China and Taiwan.

Crashes Before the Clash: the Lead-up to Tiananmen

June 5, 2023 from 5-6 p.m. PDT

Register: In-Person Event | Register: Zoom Webinar

This talk by Jeremy Brown from Simon Fraser University offers new insights about the buildup to the Tiananmen protests, a major turning point in China's recent past.

Data visualizations on wide-ranging topics in Chinese politics and political economy are featured on our China Data Lab blog.

China Focus is an online magazine dedicated to providing depth and context for understanding China and U.S.-China relations. It is run by GPS students with the support of the center.

For students, faculty and others interested in new academic research, sign up for upcoming China Research Workshops, organized jointly with the Fudan-UC Center.

The 21st Century China Center receives support from philanthropists, alumni, community members, foundations and institutional partners and welcomes tax-deductible donations to support our mission.

21st Century China Center, School of Global Policy and Strategy

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