CBBC members are invited to join the second session of our new CB Insights series where we’ll be taking a fresh look at US-China relations under President Biden.
In the final days of the Trump Administration, President Trump took the unprecedented step of declassifying the current US Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific some 30 years ahead of schedule. This document provided a unique snapshot of the factors underpinning US foreign policy towards China, including concerns about a changing economic, political, and military balance.
With the change in administration under new President Biden, the question now is, to what extent will America’s approach to China change?
Join a panel of experts, including President Obama’s top advisor on the Asia-Pacific, as we look at the priorities for the incoming President and explore the following questions:
Speakers
Craig Allen, US-China Business Council
On July 26, 2018, Craig Allen began his tenure as the sixth President of the United States-China Business Council (USCBC), a private, nonpartisan, non-profit organization representing over 200 American companies doing business with China.
Prior to joining USCBC, Craig had a long, distinguished career in US public service.
His last government position was as US Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam (December 2014–July 2018).
Before that, Craig served in Washington as Deputy Assistant Secretary for China (2012–2014) in the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA), and as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia (2010–2012).
He served previously as Senior Commercial Officer at the US Embassy in South Africa (2006– 2010), and as Senior Commercial Officer at the US Embassy in Beijing (2003–2006). When in Beijing, he was promoted to Minister Counselor rank in the Senior Foreign Service.
While on a Foreign Service assignment to the National Center for APEC in Seattle (2000–2002), Craig worked on APEC summits in Brunei, China, and Mexico.
Earlier posts were as Deputy Senior Commercial Officer and Commercial Attaché at the US Embassy in Tokyo (1995–2000), as Commercial Attaché at the US Embassy in Beijing (1992– 1995), and as Director of the American Trade Center in Taipei (1988–1992). He started his career in government in 1985 as a Presidential Management Intern in ITA at the Department of Commerce.
Craig received a M.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University (1985), and a B.A. in Political Science and Asian Studies from the University of Michigan (1979).
Dr. Evan S. Medeiros, Georgetown University
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, defence 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.
Dr. Medeiros currently advises multinational companies on China in his current role as Senior Advisor with The Asia Group and previously as a Managing Director at Eurasia Group. Prior to joining the White House, Dr. Medeiros worked for seven years as a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. From 2007-2008, he also served as policy advisor to Secretary Hank Paulson working on the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue at the Treasury Department.
Dr. Medeiros holds a Ph.D. in international relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science, in addition to an M.Phil degree in international relations from the University of Cambridge (where he was a Fulbright Scholar), a M.A. degree in China studies from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies, and a B.A. degree in analytic philosophy from Bates College in Maine. He is married to Bernadette Meehan, and they have a daughter, Amelia.
Lingling Wei, The Wall Street Journal
Lingling Wei is an award-winning senior China correspondent for The Wall Street Journal and co-author of "Superpower Showdown," a history of the U.S.-China trade and economic stand-off. Hailing from a farm province in southeastern China, she came of age as a journalist in New York in the early 2000s and returned to China in early 2011 to report on changes in her homeland. From then until 2020, when China expelled Journal reporters including Lingling, she had covered all aspects of China's economy, its opaque policy-making process and key decision-makers. Currently living in New York, Lingling continues to focus on the intersection of the Chinese economy and politics.
