SOLD OUT: Assessing U.S. – China relations in the 2020 election year

The last several decades have seen a vast expansion of both cooperation and competition between the United States and China, from trade and investment to technology and innovation. As a result, today we face a new world in which economic and geopolitical grievances and the incompatible political ideologies of these two countries have come to the fore, manifest most starkly in the ongoing trade war. With China slipping back into “market-Leninism” and the United States rapidly rejecting globalization and established trade protocols, the relationship enters a particularly strained phase that coincides with a U.S. presidential election and significant domestic political polarization. We’ll take stock and explore how both countries can navigate this challenging operating landscape and what it means for U.S. business interests and political priorities.

About the Speaker
James McGregor is Chairman of Greater China, APCO Worldwide, and an author, journalist and businessman who has lived in China for more than 25 years and become one of the most recognized analysts and writers on business in China. A professional speaker who specializes in China's business, politics and society, he regularly appears in the media to discuss China-related topics. He is the author of the books No Ancient Wisdom, No Followers: The Challenges of Chinese Authoritarian Capitalism (2012) and One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China (2005). He also covered China's indigenous innovation policies in the report "China's Drive for Indigenous Innovation: A Web of Industrial Policies" in 2010. He is the former CEO of Dow Jones & Company in China and Wall Street Journal bureau chief in China and Taiwan. He’s also former chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce is China and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.

About the Moderator
Heather Yang Hwalek is a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State. She served as Vice Consul at the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou, China, assisting U.S. citizens in southern China and facilitating and promoting travel to the United States for business, tourism, and academia. She also served as a Political-Military Officer in Tokyo, Japan, strengthening the U.S.-Japan Alliance through bilateral negotiations, strategic planning, and political analysis and outreach. Most recently, Heather served as a staff officer to the Secretary of State, managing briefing memoranda and advancing the Secretary's official travel. Prior to her Foreign Service career, she also served at the Department of State in the Bureau of African Affairs, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, and Bureau of Diplomatic Security, as well as at the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa. Heather studied Anthropology at Columbia University (BA) and International Relations at Yale University (MA). She is currently on leave from the State Department and living in Seattle.

This program is sponsored by Himalaya Capital Management LLC

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