Category: Uncategorized

  • U.S. diplomat wrestles with whether China’s commitments on ivory have made a difference

    Assistant Secretary of State William Brownfield and USAID Associate Administrator Eric Postel answered questions in a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing on wildlife trafficking. The witnesses’ comments on working with China on ivory issues highlight the uncertainty about whether agreements like the joint commitment on ivory announced in September produce results. Brownfield portrays Chinese efforts as…

  • Sanders and Clinton on Asia at the New Hampshire debate

    Here are some excerpts from the February 4, 2016, Democratic primary debate in New Hampshire, in which Senator Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton comment on China and Asia. Sen. Bernie Sanders on outsourcing to China Can I work with corporations? Are there good corporations doing incredible cutting edge research and development? Absolutely…

  • Jeb Bush on China: Excerpts from CFR

    Former Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush discussed foreign policy during an event this week at the Council on Foreign Relations. Here are the passages related to China: Two comments on the “pivot” concept: [W]e need to reinvigorate the alliances that have kept us safe. [The word “Japan” does not appear in the…

  • Asia in Obama’s last State of the Union address

    [Stopped updating.] The speech is out on Medium well before it begins. There are two mentions of China and one of “Beijing,” none of Japan, two of Asia (not counting one reference to Asians as an ethnic group), and none of Korea. China appears in seemingly contradictory senses, in both cases for its economy. In pushing for…

  • TPP: Setting rules and dropping a marker for Chinese reform

    Today I join a ChinaFile conversation on the implications of the Trans-Pacific Partnership for China, launched by UCSD’s Barry Naughton and Arthur Kroeber of GaveKal Dragonomics, along with Guy de Jonquières. My contribution is here, but the entire discussion is worth a read. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is not, contrary to some recent commentary and…