Dear U.S.–China Week reader,

Since the last edition in December, U.S.–China relations have taken several dramatic turns. Issue 121 of U.S.–China Week noted that a draft of the U.S. Section 301 report on Chinese trade and investment practices was circulating, and the final report was just released. Dramatic rhetoric between the United States and North Korea has for now yielded to the dramatic announcement that the two countries’ leaders agreed to meet. Technology and cyberspace policies in both countries have continued to rise in security, economic, and competitive importance. Meanwhile, I have been preparing for the future of U.S.–China Week.

U.S.–China Week is now Transpacifica

Today I’m announcing that starting with the next edition in two weeks:

• U.S.–China Week will be renamed Transpacifica after its home from the start, my decade-running online resource on East Asian relations with the United States;
• The Transpacifica newsletter will appear every two weeks instead of weekly, a change that will allow me to continue producing quality analysis amidst a changing professional life (about which more below);
• The newsletter will cover a more focused set of issues with greater emphasis on analysis. U.S.–China Week sought to deliver news summaries and analysis on the most important bilateral news regardless of issue area, but readers consistently responded most positively to topics that received deeper analysis. Thus I will no longer seek to cover every issue but rather to closely track those issues on which I—and any future collaborators—are equipped to provide the greatest insight; and
• Transpacifica will open the process of seeking collaborators for the newsletter and other projects.

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These changes come alongside exciting professional developments. Last summer, I made the move to Oakland, Calif., to pursue a portfolio of work centered around China’s digital technology policies and U.S.-China relations.

I continue to work as a senior fellow with Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center, now managing our bilateral programming on artificial intelligence and digital technologies in U.S.–China relations. I have taken up a role as a fellow and lead coordinator with New America’s DigiChina project, where we translate, contextualize, and analyze Chinese digital policy sources. We’re proud of the first nine months of DigiChina’s collaborative work, and we’ll be picking up the pace significantly beginning next month. And working independently, Transpacifica, LLC, provides research and consulting services on Chinese and Asia-Pacific policy issues, in addition to producing the renamed Transpacifica newsletter.

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I am grateful to every one of the more than 1,500 subscribers to U.S.–China Week during its first three years. Many of you have offered insights, critiques, and encouragement both online and in person, and many more publish analysis that has deeply informed my thinking.

There is no guarantee of smooth sailing in the transpacific world today, but I greatly look forward to navigating along with you. I remain confident that, through careful thinking, some great follies can be avoided and some great opportunities can be realized.
Sincerely,

Graham Webster
PS, as always: Please encourage friends and colleagues to subscribe to the Transpacifica newsletter; here is the web version of this message, ideal for sharing on social media; and you can follow me on Twitter at @gwbstr. Please send your comments, quibbles, and suggestions to [email protected].