In this century, no international relationship will be more important than the relationship between the US and China. In attempts to scrutinize the two nations, observers typically focus on government officials: their policies, speeches, and diplomatic exchanges. Little noticed and understood, however, is an expansive network of non-state individuals who help shape U.S-China relations in a variety of ways. In both the US and China, the academia can play an especially big role, as boundaries between academia and government are often porous.
Drawing on her years of fieldwork in China, her role as the first Singaporean appointed by the National Committee of US-China Relations as a Public Intellectual Fellow, and her connections to an extensive lineage of China scholars and policy advisors in the U.S., Ang will share her personal reflections on the role of “relations” (guanxi) in the U.S. and China.