Asia Society Texas Center, in partnership with the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, and the Houston Committee on Foreign Relations invites you to participate in the seventh annual CHINA Town Hall: Local Connections, National Reflections. Set for October 28, the Town Hall features a webcast of the 64th United States Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright on the current state of U.S.-China relations. The live webcast will be followed by a presentation by Enrique Dussel Peters.

In the last decades, and particularly since 2001 with the adhesion of China to the WTO, NAFTA has experienced massive competition from China. In addition, since the global crisis of 2008 China has become a major source for Latin American investments. What are the main characteristics for Chinese foreign direct investments in Latin America and the Caribbean for 2000-2012? And, should the NAFTA region respond to China´s challenges as a region? The debate on NAFTA, TPP, and other regional trade and investment arrangements are critical to understand Latin America's and Mexico's "triangular relationship" with the U.S. and China.

Schedule

Registration and Reception: 5:30 pm
Live Webcast: 6:00 pm
Program: 7:00 pm

About Madeleine Albright

Madeleine K. Albright was the 64th Secretary of State of the United States. Serving from 1997 until 2001, she was the first woman to hold that position, which she assumed after four years as U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations. During her tenure, Dr. Albright was known for her strong commitment to democracy, arms control, human rights, and peace in the Middle East, Africa, and other regions of conflict. She played a lead role in forging America's successful response to terror and ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, and was a forceful advocate of bringing war criminals to justice. Since leaving office, Dr. Albright has authored three New York Times bestsellers. Her autobiography, Madam Secretary: A Memoir, was published in 2003. A second book, The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs, entered bookstores in 2006. Memo to the President: How We Can Restore America's Reputation and Leadership was published in 2008.

Currently, Albright serves as a Chair of Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategy firm, and Chair and Principal of Albright Capital Management LLC, an investment advisory company focused on emerging markets. She is the first Michael and Virginia Mortara Endowed Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. She chairs both the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, and the Pew Global Attitudes Project and is president of the Truman Scholarship Foundation. Dr. Albright co-chairs the UNDP's Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, serves on the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Board of Trustees for the Aspen Institute, and the Board of Directors of the Center for a New American Security.

About Enrique Dussel Peters

Enrique Dussel Peters received his BA and MA in Political Science at the Free University of Berlin and his PhD in Economics at the University of Notre Dame. Peters is a full time professor at the Graduate School of Economics at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). He has taught more than 90 courses at the BA, MA and PhD levels in Mexico and internationally, and participated in more than 260 national and international seminars and conferences. His research has concentrated on theory of industrial organization, economic development, political economy, as well as on the manufacturing sector, trade, and regional specialization patterns in Latin America and Mexico. He has collaborated and coordinated projects with UNAM, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the International Labour Organization (ILO), Ford Foundation, and the Interamerican Development Bank (IADB), among other institutions. Professor Dussel Peters received several research distinctions in 2000 and 2004.