The Future of U.S. and China Conference
VIEW EVENT DETAILSSeeking Truth Through Facts
Asia Society Northern California will host its signature one-day conference virtually on The Future of U.S. and China: Seeking Truth Through Facts on Thursday, January 14. This conference, for the third consecutive year, will bring together leading business and government officials, experts, and policymakers to examine topics including new strategic frameworks for the bilateral relationship; issues including trade, national security, technology, and domestic challenges; as well as the global impact of the political and economic landscape.
Confirmed Speakers Include:
- The Honorable George P. Shultz, Former United States Secretary of State;
- Dr. Henry Kissinger, Chairman of Kissinger Associates and Former United States Secretary of State;
- The Honorable Kevin Rudd, Incoming President, Asia Society;
- Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis, Lieutenant Governor of California;
- Nicholas Borst, Vice President and Director of China Research at Seafarer Capital Partners;
- Chad Bown, Reginald Jones Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE);
- Dr. Kurt Campbell, Chair and CEO of The Asia Group and former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs;
- Howard Chao, Principal at Doon Capital;
- Andrew Chung, Founder & Managing Partner at 1955 Capital;
- Margaret Conley, Executive Director of Asia Society Northern California;
- David Dollar, Senior Fellow in the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution;
- Michael Dunne, CEO ZoZo Go;
- Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan (former) and Asia Society Northern California Board;
- Admiral William Fallon, U.S. Navy (Retired);
- Bonnie Glaser, Senior Adviser for Asia; Director, China Power Project, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS);
- Mary Kay Magistad, Former China correspondent for NPR and PRX's “The World”;
- Evan Medeiros, Penner Family Chair in Asian Studies and the Cling Family Senior Fellow in U.S.-China Relations, Georgetown University;
- Minxin Pei, Tom and Margot Pritzker '72 Professor of Government, Claremont McKenna College;
- Dave Rank, Former Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy Beijing; Senior Advisor, Cohen Group;
- Gary Rieschel, Founding Managing Partner of Qiming Venture Partners and Asia Society Northern California Board;
- Andy Rothman, Investment Strategist at Matthews Asia and Asia Society Northern California Board;
- Daniel Russel, Vice President for International Security and Diplomacy, Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI);
- Susan Shirk, Research Professor and Chair 21st Century China Center, School of Global Policy and Strategy at University of California San Diego;
- Jack Wadsworth, Honorary Chairman of Asia Society Northern California;
- Lingling Wei, Senior China Correspondent, The Wall Street Journal;
- Ken Wilcox, Chairman of Asia Society Northern California;
- Wenting Yu, Corporate Transactional Lawyer at O’Melveny & Myers
- Denise Zheng, Vice President of Technology and Innovation, Business Roundtable;
- and more!
This event is the fifth and final program in the Seeking Truth Through Facts U.S.-China program series hosted by Asia Society Northern California.
We will honor Secretary George Shultz at this event - for his lifelong contributions to US-China relations, longtime service as Honorary Chair of Asia Society Northern California and in celebration of his centennial birthday. Tribute participants include Ambassador William J. Burns, Ambassador Winston Lord and Dr. Kiron Skinner. Secretary George Shultz and Dr. Henry Kissinger will do a joint-interview, moderated by Policy Institute Vice President Danny Russel.
Please find our full program here: Future of U.S. & China Conference Program [FINAL]
This program is complimentary and open to the global community. Please consider making a donation to support our work. Registration will close on Wednesday, January 13 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific.
AGENDA
Date: Thursday, January 14, 2021 from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Pacific
9:00 a.m. - 9:10 a.m.
Welcome Remarks – Margaret Conley, Executive Director, Asia Society Northern California
Opening Remarks – Lt. Governor of California Eleni Kounalakis
9:10 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Session 1 – The Global Chessboard: After a year of recriminations and downward spiral in the relationship, what should be the strategic framework to get the relationship back on track? China is pursuing new international alliances (B&R, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia) even as the U.S. engages western nations to challenge China’s ambitions. What type of framework would enable these two powers to co-exist and continue collaboration, maintain competition, and prevent conflict?
- Kevin Rudd, Incoming President & CEO, Asia Society
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Session 2 – Rebalancing the U.S.-China Economic Relationship: Trade, Investment, and Technology: After several years of economic conflict, can America and China return to a more stable and mutually beneficial economic relationship? The panel will explore this question in the areas of trade, investment, and technology, highlighting steps that both Beijing and Washington can take to put the economic relationship back on track.
- Gary Rieschel (Moderator), Qiming Investments
- Nick Borst, Seafarer Capital Partners
- Chad Bown, Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
- David Dollar, Brookings
- Lingling Wei, Wall Street Journal
10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. COFFEE BREAK
10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
Session 3 – Technology: How has the growing divide and technology conflict between the U.S. and China impacted industries in fundamental ways? A conversation with specialists.
- Denise Zheng (Moderator), Business Roundtable
- Howard Chao, Doon Capital
- Andrew Chung, 1955 Capital
- Michael Dunne, ZoZo Go
- Wenting Yu, O’Melveny & Myers
11:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Session 4 – Doubling Down on Strongman Rule: How is Xi Jinping Confronting his New Challenges? Issues to address include China’s domestic evolution and implications for American policy, China’s reassessment of interdependence with the U.S., and what’s next for Hong Kong and Taiwan.
- Mary Kay Magistad (Moderator), Former China correspondent for NPR and PRX's “The World”
- Minxin Pei, Claremont McKenna College
- Susan Shirk, UC San Diego
12:45 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. LUNCH BREAK
1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.
Session 5 – China-U.S. Strategic Issues During the Biden Administration: topics include the impact of wolf warrior diplomacy in Asia, territorial disputes including the East and South China Seas, and new global impacts as a result of an evolving U.S.-China strategic competition. Could U.S.-China tensions lead to military conflict?
- Ken Wilcox (Moderator), Asia Society Northern California Chair
- Admiral William Fallon (retired)
- Bonnie Glaser, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
- Evan Medeiros, Former NSC Director for Asian Affairs under President Obama/Georgetown Professor, Biden Advisor
2:15 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
George Shultz Tribute
- Introductory Remarks – Jack Wadsworth, Asia Society Northern California Honorary Chair
- Tribute Video
- Mr. George Shultz and Dr. Henry Kissinger with Danny Russel
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Session 6 – Pursuing a New U.S.-China Policy Framework: Goals, Strategy and Policy Prescriptions
- Andy Rothman (Moderator), Investment Strategist at Matthews Asia
- Kurt Campbell, Former Assistant Secretary of State for Asian Affairs under Clinton and Senior Biden Advisor
- Karl Eikenberry, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan (former) and Asia Society Northern California Board
- Dave Rank, Former Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires, US Embassy Beijing; Senior Advisor, Cohen Group
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. VIP Reception
Off the record virtual gathering with speakers, VIPs, and sponsors with remarks by several speakers, including our sponsor Chevron.
Link to join virtually via Zoom will be emailed the day before and an hour before the program is scheduled to begin by Rexille Uy, Director of Programs ([email protected]). This will be a webinar program; attendees will not appear on camera and will participate via the Q&A box.
Thank you Tencent for sponsoring our private VIP Reception on January 13, 2020 from 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Pacific
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES (in order of appearance)
Margaret Conley, a Bay Area native, is the Executive Director of Asia Society Northern California. Her non-profit experience includes the Berggruen Institute, where she launched a Philosophy + Culture Institute with a focus on the U.S. and China. Margaret was based in Asia for several years as a television news correspondent with ABC News in Jakarta and Tokyo, and with Bloomberg Television in Shanghai. She was part of the global ABC team that won a News and Documentary Emmy Award for presidential inauguration coverage. Her interviews include Howard Schultz, Richard Branson, Ban Ki-Moon, LeBron James and Beyoncé. She has a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and a master’s in journalism from the University of Hong Kong, which specializes in coverage of Asia. Margaret was selected as one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business by the San Francisco Business Times in 2019. She is a member of the International Women's Forum.
Ambassador Eleni Kounalakis was sworn in as the 50th Lieutenant Governor of California by Governor Gavin Newsom on January 7th, 2019. She is the first woman elected Lt. Governor of California. A native Californian, she visited each of the state’s 58 counties during her historic campaign. From 2010 to 2013, Kounalakis served as President Barack Obama’s Ambassador to the Republic of Hungary. Kounalakis was the first Greek-American woman – and at age 43 one of America’s youngest – to serve as U.S. Ambassador. Her highly acclaimed memoir, “Madam Ambassador, Three Years of Diplomacy, Dinner Parties and Democracy in Budapest” (The New Press, 2015), chronicles the onset of Hungary’s democratic backsliding. Governor Jerry Brown appointed Kounalakis to chair the California Advisory Council for International Trade and Investment in 2014. Kounalakis was a Virtual Fellow at the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) between 2014 and 2017, specializing in international trade and immigration. She is currently a director of the Association of American Ambassadors and a National Democratic Institute (NDI) “Ambassadors Circle” advisor.
The Honorable Kevin Rudd is the incoming President and Chief Executive Officer of Asia Society, effective January 1st, 2021 and current President of the Asia Society Policy Institute. He served as Australia’s 26th Prime Minister (2007-2010, 2013) and as Foreign Minister (2010-2012). He is also a leading international authority on China. He began his career as a China scholar, serving as an Australian diplomat in Beijing before entering Australian politics. Mr. Rudd joined the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) in New York as its inaugural President in January 2015. ASPI is a “think-do tank” dedicated to using second-track diplomacy to assist governments and businesses in resolving policy challenges within Asia, and between Asia and the West.
Gary Rieschel (Session 2 Moderator) is Founding Managing Partner at Qiming, a firm with over $3B USD focused on early stage investments in China and one of China’s premier VC firms. He has over twenty-five years of successful operating and investing experience as a senior executive, entrepreneur, investor, and global business strategist. Mr. Rieschel’s personal investment areas are Healthcare and Cleantech. He advised the China Greentech Initiative, and the Rocky Mountain Institute in its move to China. He actively supports the U.S. China Clean Energy Forum, PERC (Property and Environmental Research), The Nature Conservancy, the Climate Leadership Council, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the U.S. Olympic Foundation. He served on the joint venture boards of Blackrock/Bank of China and Silicon Valley Bank/Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. Gary holds a BA in Biology from Reed College in Portland, OR, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He lived in Japan for five years in the late 1980s and lived in Shanghai from 2005 through 2016.
Nicholas Borst is Vice President and Director of China Research at Seafarer Capital Partners. Prior to joining Seafarer, Nicholas was a senior analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco covering financial and economic developments in Greater China. Previously, he was the China Program Manager and a research associate at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Nicholas has also worked as an analyst at the World Bank. Nicholas’ research and commentary has been featured in the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Bloomberg, and South China Morning Post. Nicholas has also testified before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission on multiple occasions. Nicholas holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and Economics from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a Graduate Certificate from the Johns Hopkins-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies. He is a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute.
Chad P. Bown, Reginald Jones Senior Fellow since March 2018, joined the Peterson Institute for International Economics as a senior fellow in April 2016. His research examines international trade laws and institutions, trade negotiations, and trade disputes. With Soumaya Keynes, he cohosts Trade Talks, a weekly podcast on the economics of international trade policy. Bown previously served as senior economist for international trade and investment in the White House on the Council of Economic Advisers and most recently as a lead economist at the World Bank, conducting research and advising developing country governments on international trade policy for seven years.
David Dollar is a Senior Fellow in the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution. From 2009 to 2013 Dollar was the U.S. Treasury’s Economic and Financial Emissary to China, based in Beijing, facilitating the macroeconomic and financial policy dialogue between the U.S. and China. Prior to joining Treasury Dollar worked 20 years for the World Bank, serving as Country Director for China and Mongolia, based in Beijing (2004-2009). His most recent book is China 2049, co-authored with economists from Peking University. Dollar also worked in the World Bank’s research department. His publications focus on economic reform in China, globalization, and economic growth. He also taught economics at UCLA, during which time he spent a semester in Beijing at the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (1986). He has a PhD in economics from New York University and a B.A. in Chinese history and language from Dartmouth College.
Lingling Wei is a senior China correspondent for The Wall Street Journal and co-author of “Superpower Showdown.” She covers China's political economy, focusing on Beijing's policy-making process and its key decision makers. Born and raised in China, she has a M.A. in journalism from N.Y.U. and got her start covering U.S. real estate and finance.
Denise Zheng (Session 3 Moderator) is vice president at the Business Roundtable, where she oversees the Technology and Innovation Committees. Previously, she was a senior fellow and director of the Technology Policy Program at CSIS, where she led research initiatives on cyber and emerging technology issues. Ms. Zheng has a unique blend of expertise, including advanced technology research and development, legislative and policy strategy, and private-sector experience. Prior to CSIS, she was chief of staff and lead science and engineering technical adviser as a contractor for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) foundational cyber warfare program, Plan X. Before DARPA, she was director for global government relations and cyber policy at CA Technologies, where she advised company executives on cybersecurity, supply chains, and software assurance issues. Ms. Zheng has also served as a professional staff member for the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. In that role, she was a principal in drafting and negotiations for comprehensive cybersecurity legislation and conducted oversight of critical infrastructure protection programs, spectrum auctions, privacy, and federal IT programs.
Howard Chao is an investor and counselor to entrepreneurs. He began his work life as a corporate lawyer with O’Melveny & Myers and for many years was the Chair of the Firm’s Asia Practice. He helped establish the firm’s offices in Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Beijing, and practiced for many years as a cross-border investment specialist based in Asia. Since 2001 Howard has been based in Silicon Valley, but has continued to do business in the Asia markets. In the past 8 years Howard has moved to the principal side of investing. Howard actively makes early stage investments in early stage tech companies through his personal vehicle, Doon Capital, usually in collaboration with institutions. He maintains close working relationships with various VC and PE funds. Howard invests primarily in startups located in the the U.S. and China. He has invested in fintech, auto/mobility tech, ag/food tech, legal/reg tech and a few other verticals.
Andrew Chung is Founder & Managing Partner at 1955 Capital. He has been a tech investor and entrepreneur for over 20 years and founded 1955 Capital to invest in transformative companies that can solve the most pressing issues in the developing world. 1955 was the largest venture capital firm debut in Q1 2016 and focuses on sustainability (energy, food, agriculture), education, health, and other emerging technologies. Prior to launching 1955 Capital, Andrew was a general partner at Khosla Ventures, a venture capital firm with over $6 billion under management and the world’s largest sustainable technology venture portfolio. Andrew joined Khosla in 2011 as one of six partners leading the firm. He managed over $500 million in assets and has served as board director or helped advise more than 20 Khosla portfolio companies. While at Khosla, Andrew led the firm’s China activities and speaks fluent Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese. Prior to Khosla, Andrew was at Lightspeed Venture Partners, a global venture capital platform with over $10 billion under management, and helped build the firm’s practice areas in cleantech, education and genomics.
Michael Dunne is an entrepreneur, author and keynote speaker with special expertise in China and mobility. Dunne is currently the CEO of ZoZo Go, an investment advisory firm with expertise in China and mobility operating in Hong Kong, Shanghai and San Diego. He is the founder of Car Keys Asia Ltd. and has worked at General Motors to run its Indonesian operations. Dunne is also the author of American Wheels, Chinese Roads and was the perennial keynote speaker on the automotive business at the JP Morgan Chinese Conference, held between 2006 and 2013 and attended by thousands of the world's top investors.
Wenting Yu is a corporate transactional lawyer at O’Melveny & Myers specializing in securities offerings, venture financings, mergers and acquisitions and other corporate transactions. She regularly assists startup, midsize, and large companies across a variety of industries, including biotechnology, life sciences, Internet, mobile, software, semiconductor, electronic design automation (EDA), gaming, media and marketing. Wenting also has significant cross-border transaction experience, particularly with Cayman entities doing business in the U.S. and China. Wenting provides her clients with innovative legal approaches to complex transactions. She is communicative and works diligently to produce successful results for her clients so that she can position them for success.
Mary Kay Magistad (Session 4 Moderator) is a former China correspondent for NPR and PRX’s “The World”. She opened NPR’s first Beijing bureau in the mid ‘90s, and returned for the BBC/PRX program “The World” (2003-13). Earlier, she was NPR’s Southeast Asia correspondent. She has reported in every province in China, most countries in Asia, and several in Africa, on how China’s fast economic growth and rise as a global power were affecting individual lives, and reshaping the global economy, environment and political equations. Mary Kay’s recent podcast with the Global Reporting Centre, “On China’s
New Silk Road,” launched on September 2, 2020 with condensed versions broadcast on PRX’s The World. It looks at how China’s global ambition is seen, and at the impact its Belt and Road Initative is having, around the world. Mary Kay’s “Whose Century Is It?” podcast, a Webby Awards honoree, has taken a long view on how different kinds of power, or lack of it, are shaping our shared long-term future. Mary Kay has taught international reporting, and headed the audio journalism program, at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. Mary Kay received a BS in journalism, with a second major in history, from Northwestern University, and an MA in international relations from Sussex University in England. She’s been a Nieman Fellow and Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard University. Her work has received awards from the Overseas Press Club, dupont-Columbia, and the Society of Professional Journalists/Sigma Delta Chi, among others.
Minxin Pei is the Tom and Margot Pritzker ‘72 Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College. He is also a non-resident senior fellow of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. In 2019 he was the Library of Congress Chair on U.S.-China Relations. Prior to joining Claremont McKenna College in 2009, he was a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and served as its director of the China Program from 2003 to 2008. He is the author of From Reform to Revolution: The Demise of Communism in China and the Soviet Union (Harvard University Press, 1994), China’s Trapped Transition: The Limits of Developmental Autocracy (Harvard University Press, 2006), and China’s Crony Capitalism: The Dynamics of Regime Decay (Harvard University Press, 2016).
Susan Shirk is the Chair of the 21st Century China Center and Research Professor at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California San Diego. She is also director emeritus of the University of California’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC). Susan Shirk first visited China in 1971 and has been teaching, researching and engaging China diplomatically ever since. From 1997-2000, Dr. Shirk served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, with responsibility for China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mongolia. She co-chairs a task force of China experts that issued its second report “Course Correction: Toward an Effective and Sustainable China Policy,” in February 2019. She is also co-chair of the UC San Diego Forum on U.S.-China Relations, the first ongoing high-level forum focused entirely on the U.S.-China relationship.
Ken Wilcox (Session 5 Moderator) is Chairman of the Board of the Asia Society of Northern California and currently serves as Emeritus Chairman of Silicon Valley Bank and was Vice Chairman of SPD Silicon Valley Bank. He was previously the CEO of SVB Financial Group. In that role, he successfully pursued a strategy of expansion and diversification, while remaining focused on the group’s core niches of technology, life sciences, venture capital and premium wineries. Mr. Wilcox serves as Treasurer of the Asian Art Museum, and Chairman of the Board of the 21st Century China Center Advisory Board. Also, he is a member of the board of the Equilibrium Capital Group, and Chief Credit Officer of Columbia Lake Venture Debt Fund. He is also an adjunct professor and member of International Advisory Board at Fudan University in Shanghai. Mr. Wilcox was a member of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco from 2006 to 2012.
William J. Fallon retired as a four-star admiral from the U.S. Navy in 2008 after a distinguished four decade career of military and geo-political leadership. His initial service was in carrier aviation during the Vietnam War and he went on to serve in air wings, ships and commands around the world. In his last assignment, as Commander, U.S. Central Command, Admiral Fallon directed all U.S. military operations in the Middle East, Horn of Africa and Central Asia, focused on combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007-8. Prior to that, he commanded U.S. Pacific Command with responsibility for all U.S. forces in the Asia-Pacific region. He had previously served as Vice Chief of the Navy and as Commander of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. Admiral Fallon is a graduate of Villanova University, The U.S. Naval War College, the National War College and has an M.A in International Studies from Old Dominion University. He has been a CEO and Partner in cyber-security companies, a business consultant and currently sits as a Director on several corporate and non-profit boards.
Bonnie S. Glaser is a senior adviser for Asia and the director of the China Power Project at CSIS, where she works on issues related to Asia-Pacific security with a focus on Chinese foreign and security policy. She is concomitantly a nonresident fellow with the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Australia, and a senior associate with the Pacific Forum. Ms. Glaser has worked for more than three decades at the intersection of Asia-Pacific geopolitics and U.S. policy. From 2008 to mid-2015, she was a senior adviser with the CSIS Freeman Chair in China Studies, and from 2003 to 2008, she was a senior associate in the CSIS International Security Program. Prior to joining CSIS, she served as a consultant for various U.S. government offices, including the Departments of Defense and State.
Dr. Evan S. Medeiros is the Penner Family Chair in Asia Studies in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. His research and teaching focuses on the international politics of East Asia, U.S.-China relations and China’s foreign and national security policies. He has published several books and articles and regularly provides advice and commentary to global corporations and the international media. Dr. Medeiros’ background is a unique blend of expertise and experience. He previously served for six years on the staff of the National Security Council as Director for China, Taiwan and Mongolia and then as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Asia. In the latter role, Dr. Medeiros served as President Obama's top advisor on the Asia-Pacific and was responsible for coordinating U.S. policy toward the Asia-Pacific across the areas of diplomacy, defense policy, economic policy, and intelligence. He was actively involved in all aspects U.S.-China relations for six years, including several U.S.-China summits.
John “Jack” Wadsworth is the Honorary Chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia and an Advisory Director of Morgan Stanley, globally based in San Francisco. In 1987, he moved to Japan as President of Morgan Stanley Japan, Chairman of its Executive and Operating Committees, and as Head of the Firm’s investment banking business in Asia. In 1992, Mr. Wadsworth moved to Hong Kong as Chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia. In 2001, he moved from Hong Kong to San Francisco. Mr. Wadsworth earned a BA from Williams College in 1961, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business in 1963.
Daniel Russel is Vice President for International Security and Diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI). Previously he served as a Diplomat in Residence and Senior Fellow with ASPI for a one year term. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service at the U.S. Department of State, he most recently served as the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Prior to his appointment as Assistant Secretary on July 12, 2013, Mr. Russel served at the White House as Special Assistant to the President and National Security Council (NSC) Senior Director for Asian Affairs. During his tenure there, he helped formulate President Obama’s strategic rebalance to the Asia Pacific region, including efforts to strengthen alliances, deepen U.S. engagement with multilateral organizations, and expand cooperation with emerging powers in the region.
The Honorable George P. Shultz has had a distinguished career in government, in academia, and in the world of business. He is one of two individuals who have held four different federal cabinet posts; he has taught at three of this country’s great universities; and for eight years he was president of a major engineering and construction company. He attended Princeton University, graduating in 1942 with a BA in economics. Shortly after graduation, he enlisted in the US Marine Corps and served through 1945. He then resumed his studies, this time at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he earned a PhD in industrial economics in 1949. From 1948 to 1957 he taught at MIT, taking a leave of absence in 1955 to serve as a senior staff economist on President Eisenhower’s Council of Economic Advisers. He returned to government when he was appointed secretary of labor by President Nixon in 1969. In June 1970, he became the first director of the newly formed Office of Management and Budget. In May 1972, he was named secretary of the Treasury, a post he held for two years.
Shultz left government service in 1974 to become president and director of the Bechtel Group, where he remained until 1982. While at Bechtel, he maintained close ties with the academic world by joining the faculty of Stanford University. Shultz held two key positions in the Reagan administration: chairman of the President’s Economic Policy Advisory Board (1981–82) and secretary of state (1982–89). As secretary of state, he played a key role in implementing a foreign policy that led to the successful conclusion of the Cold War and the development of strong relationships between the United States and the countries of the Asia-Pacific region including China, Japan, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
After leaving office, Shultz rejoined the Bechtel Group as director and senior counselor. He also rejoined Stanford as professor of international economics at the Graduate School of Business and as a distinguished fellow at the Hoover Institution. In 2001, Shultz was named the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Distinguished Fellow at the Hoover Institution. In January 1989, Shultz was awarded the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Henry Alfred Kissinger was sworn in on September 22, 1973, as the 56th Secretary of State, a position he held until January 20, 1977. He also served as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs from January 20, 1969, until November 3, 1975. In July 1983 he was appointed by President Reagan to chair the National Bipartisan Commission on Central America until it ceased operation in January 1985, and from 1984-1990 he served as a member of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. From 1986-1988 he was a member of the Commission on Integrated Long-Term Strategy of the National Security Council and Defense Department. He served as a member of the Defense Policy Board from 2001 to 2016.
At present, Dr. Kissinger is Chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc., an international consulting firm. Among the awards Dr. Kissinger has received have been a Bronze Star from the U.S. Army in 1945; the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973; the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the nation’s highest civilian award) in 1977; and the Medal of Liberty (given one time to ten foreign-born American leaders) in 1986.
Andy Rothman (Moderator) is an Investment Strategist at Matthews Asia and sits on the board of Asia Society Northern California. He is principally responsible for developing research focused on China’s ongoing economic and political developments while also complementing the broader investment team with in-depth analysis on Asia. In addition, Andy plays a key role in communicating to clients and the media the firm’s perspectives and latest insights into China and the greater Asia region. Prior to joining Matthews Asia in 2014, Andy spent 14 years as CLSA’s China macroeconomic strategist where he conducted analysis into China and delivered his insights to their clients. Previously, Andy spent 17 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, with a diplomatic career focused on China, including as head of the macroeconomics and domestic policy office of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. He earned an M.A. in public administration from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and a B.A. from Colgate University. He is a proficient Mandarin speaker.
Dr. Kurt M. Campbell is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Asia Group, LLC, a strategic advisory and capital management group specializing in the dynamic Asia Pacific region. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of the Center for a New American Security, as a non-resident Fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center, as Vice Chairman of the East-West Center in Hawaii and as an external Director on the Lixil Board. He was also appointed as the Henry A. Kissinger Fellow at the McCain Institute for 2018-19. From 2009 to 2013, he served as the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, where he is widely credited as being a key architect of the “pivot to Asia.” For advancing a comprehensive U.S. strategy that took him to every corner of the Asia-Pacific region, Secretary Hillary Clinton awarded him the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Award (2013) — the nation’s highest diplomatic honor. Campbell was recognized in the Queen’s New Year’s list of honors in 2014 as an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia and as an Honorary Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his work in support of American relations with Australia and New Zealand respectively. He also received top national honors from Korea and Taiwan. Campbell is a contributor to the Financial Times of London and the author or editor of ten books, most recently The Pivot: The Future of American Statecraft in Asia (Twelve Books, 2016).
Karl Eikenberry
Karl Eikenberry is the former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan and Lieutenant General, U.S. Army (retired). He is a faculty member of Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University and is a Non Resident Fellow at the Liechtenstein Institute on Self Determination at Princeton University. Ambassador Eikenberry is a board member of Asia Society Northern California. Previously he was the Director of the U.S.-Asia Security Initiative at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford University, and an affiliate with the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies' Center for International Security and Cooperation; Center for Democracy, Development, and Rule of Law; and The Europe Center. Prior to Stanford, he served as the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2009 until 2011. Before appointment as Chief of Mission in Kabul, Ambassador Eikenberry had a thirty-five year career in the United States Army, retiring in April 2009 with the rank of Lieutenant General. His military operational posts included commander and staff officer with mechanized, light, airborne, and ranger infantry units in the continental U.S., Hawaii, Korea, Italy, and Afghanistan as the Commander of the American-led Coalition forces.
Dave Rank is the head of the China practice at The Cohen Group, a global business strategy consultancy, a Senior Fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, and teaches at the Johns Hopkins University School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He spent 27 years as a State Department Foreign Service Officer, including his final assignment as Deputy Chief of Mission and, following the 2016 election, as the Chargé d’Affaires (acting Ambassador) at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. In addition to six Foreign Service assignments in greater China (three in Beijing, two at the American Institute in Taiwan and one at the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai), Dave served at the U.S. embassies in Kabul, Athens, and Port Louis (Mauritius). In Washington, he worked in the office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan (SRAP), the State Department Korea desk, as Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and as a Fellow at Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy. In 2015 he received the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award for his role in the release of the only American servicemember held by the enemy in Afghanistan. He is also the recipient of the American Foreign Service Association’s Sinclaire Award for the study of languages and their related cultures. He speaks Mandarin Chinese, French, Dari and Greek. He and his wife, Mary, have three children.
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