NCUSCR Events

Environmental degradation in China has not only brought about a wider range of diseases and other health consequences than previously understood, but has also taken a heavy toll on China’s society, economy, and the legitimacy of the party-state. In Toxic Politics: China’s Environmental Health Crisis and Its Challenge to the Chinese State, Yanzhong Huang presents evidence of China's deepening health crisis and challenges the widespread view that China is winning its war on pollution. Although there has been some progress, policy enforcement measures have not substantially reduced pollution or improved public health. Dr. Huang argues that the failures lie in the institutional structure of the Chinese party-state, with conflicting incentives for officials and limited capacity of the state to deliver public goods. Toxic Politics describes a political system that is remarkably resilient but fundamentally flawed, and the implications for China's future, domestically and internationally.

On January 11, 2021, the National Committee held a virtual program with Dr. Yanzhong Huang to discuss the capacity of the Chinese party state to address its serious environmental and public health challenges.

About CHINA Town Hall: ncuscr.org/CTH.

Confronting the global challenges of climate change and communicable disease cannot be achieved by any single country, but must be met by constructive cooperation among nations. Although the United States and China will compete in many areas, it is imperative they join forces to face these universal problems that affect global stability and endanger the world's most vulnerable people.

On November 18, 2020, the National Committee held a discussion with Margaret Hamburg (National Academy of Medicine), Ryan Hass (Brookings Institution), and Angel Hsu (Yale-NUS) to consider the roles of the United States and China in addressing these two major transnational issues. The conversation was moderated by Merit Janow (Columbia School of International and Public Affairs).

About CHINA Town Hall: www.ncuscr.org/CTH.

Robust bilateral economic and trade ties have been the greatest source of strength and foundation for engagement in the U.S.-China relationship for decades. Yet in recent years those ties have been frayed by an ongoing trade war, the threat of decoupling, and a global economic and public health crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National Committee held a conversation on November 17, 2020 with Amy Celico (Albright Stonebridge Group), Huang Yiping (Peking University), and Andy Rothman (Matthews Asia), moderated by NCUSCR President Stephen Orlins, to discuss the current trade tensions, prospects for economic growth during and after COVID-19, and the future of U.S.-China economic ties.

On April 30, 2021, the National Committee held a virtual program with Robert Blackwill (Council on Foreign Relations) and Philip Zelikow (University of Virginia), moderated by leading Taiwan authority Shelley Rigger (Davidson College), to discuss U.S. policy options for a productive relationship with Taiwan.

On May 21, 2021, the National Commitee hosted a virtual program with Mary Gallagher, Margaret Lewis, and Rory Truex, in conversation with Jacques deLisle, as they discussed these issues and what lies ahead in Sino-American academic relations.

This program was held in partnership with the Penn Project on the Future of US-China Relations, sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the Study of Contemporary China.