USC U.S.-China Institute

Talking Points

October 11 - October 24, 2007

Dear Chinese Students and Scholars,

Business news this week includes the minority stake China’s Minsheng Bank is seeking in Bay-area based United Commercial Bank and the offer Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications/network company, and Bain, an American private equity firm, have made for 3Com, a telecommunications equipment manufacturer. These moves are the latest by Chinese companies to diversify their holdings and to acquire talent, business expertise, research and development capabilities. And they also provide greater access to the American market. Of course, American firms have long been investing in China, developing production capacity and purchasing market access.

China’s post-Mao opening and economic reforms have dramatically improved the lives of hundreds of millions of people. The benefits of this advance, however, are far from evenly distributed. Land allocation disputes, allegations of favoritism, the displacement of residents, insufficient access to better-paying jobs, and pollution have generated tensions that have sometimes exploded into violent confrontations. Mindful of these divisions, China’s leaders are calling for the creation of a harmonious society and economic development that addresses social needs first. These themes will be emphasized in next week’s 17th Chinese Communist Party Congress.

Susan Shirk, former deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia, has met many of China’s top leaders. She believes that the nation’s increased openness and prosperity has produced greater insecurity among those leaders. And she fears that insecurity could lead to political instability within China. Such instability could complicate efforts by the United States and others to effectively work with China on issues of mutual concern. Dr. Shirk, director of the University of California’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, will draw upon her new book, China: Fragile Superpower, in discussing these issues at USC today, October 11 (3 – 5 pm, University Club).

Next week, filmmaker Irv Drasnin, best known for his award-winning documentaries broadcast on CBS (e.g., Misunderstanding China, 1972) and PBS (e.g., China After Tiananmen, 1992), will examine the challenges of working in China and of explaining China to Americans. He’ll speak at USC on October 19. Meanwhile, Disney Center’s RedCat Theater is featuring a variety of feature films in its New Chinese Cinema series. Details about these events, a major Washington, D.C. conference on Hong Kong, and more are available below and in the calendar section of the the USCI website.

Among USCI’s new initiatives is US-China Today, a web magazine exploring new and important developments in China and in U.S.-China relations. The inaugural issue’s features include looks at Chinese efforts to create global brands, the Party’s propaganda apparatus at work, and real estate trends, as well as a profile of an American who profoundly influenced perceptions of China and articles on the threat Beijing’s pollution poses to Olympic athletes, the American embrace of aspects of Chinese pop culture, and much more. The magazine will also feature a daily news update and a diplomacy/economy monitor. US-China Today will be available online late next week.

USCI aims to foster greater understanding of the evolving and multidimensional U.S.-China relationship and trends in contemporary China. One way we do this is by serving as a clearinghouse for information about presentations, conferences, exhibitions, and events related to China. We hope you find our newsletter useful and that you’ll continue to offer us feedback and to encourage friends and colleagues to subscribe. They may do so at: http://china.usc.edu/Subscribe.aspx.

Best wishes,

The USC U.S.-China Institute

http://china.usc.edu

USC Events

10/11/2007: China – Fragile Superpower

USC University Club

Address: Banquet Room, Los Angeles, CA 90089

Cost: Free

Time: 3:00PM - 5:00PM

UCSD political scientist and USC U.S.-China Institute Board of Scholars member Susan L. Shirk will speak on US-China relations.

10/19/2007: Irv Drasnin: Documenting China

USC Taper Hunanities Hall (THH) 202

Los Angeles, CA 90089

Cost: Free

Phone: 213-821-4382

Time: 2:00PM - 4:00PM

Irv Drasnin will screen parts of his films and discuss the challenges of working in China.

California Events

10/11/2007: Wu Wenguang

Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theatre (In Walt Disney Concernt Hall)

Address: 631 West 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Cost: See website for details

Time: 8:00PM - 11:00PM

Part of the Jack H. Skirball Screening Series - New Chinese Cinema: The Unofficial Stories of Tang Tang, Fourth Child, Little Moth and Others.

10/12/2007: China's Information Revolution

Lipman Room, Barrows Hall, UC Berkeley

Cost: Free

Time: 3:30PM - 5:00PM

Xiao Qiang examines media technologies and its impact on the Chinese political system.

10/12/2007: The Rise of Manchu Power in Northeast Asia (c. 1600-1636): Local and Global Dimensions

IEAS Conference Room

Address: 2223 Fulton Street, 6th Floor, Berkeley, CA

Time: 4:00PM - 6:00PM

Nicola Di Cosmo explores the rise of Manchurian power in seventeeth century China.

10/12/2007 - 10/13/2007: Annual Meeting, American Oriental Society, Western Branch

UC Irvine

Address: 135 Humanities Instructional Building

Irvine, CA

Time: 9:00AM - 9:00PM

A two-day conference at UC Irvine.

10/14/2007: The Magic of Chinese Animation

University of California, Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Rim Archive

Address: Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive 2625 Durant Avenue #2250 , Berkeley, CA 94720-2250

Cost: $4.50-9.50

Time: 2:00PM - 4:00PM

This film screening includes a selection of classics of Chinese animation, drawing on a variety of styles and techniques.

10/17/2007: Antiquities & Archaeology in the Three Gorges Area

UCLA

11377 Bunche Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095

Cost: Free

Time: 4:00PM - 5:30PM

Professor Sun Hua analyzes the economic and environmental impacts that the famous Three Gorges area of Sichuan has on the region.

10/17/2007: Curatorial Urbanism

W. M. Keck Lecture Hall

Address: 960 East 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013

Cost: Free

Time: 7:00PM - 9:00PM

Qingyun Ma is Dean of the USC School of Architecture and holder of the Della and Harry MacDonald Dean's Chair in Architecture.

10/19/2007: Mei Lanfang, Peking Opera, and the Chinese Aesthetic

IEAS Conference Room

Address: 2223 Fulton Street, 6th Floor, Berkeley, CA

Time: 1:00PM - 4:00PM

Joshua Goldstein, Zhang Dandan, and Ban Wang examine the themes of 20th century Peking Opera with special emphasis on Mei Lanfang.

North America Events

10/22/2007: Hong Kong on the Move: American and Hong Kong Perspectives on the First Ten Years of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Washington, DC

Cost: Free

Time: 8:30AM - 5:30PM

A discussion about Hong Kong's first ten years as a Special Administrative Region with both American and Hong Kong experts.

Exhibitions:

09/17/2007 - 12/21/2007: Forces: Paintings & Calligraphy

IEAS Conference Room

2223 Fulton Street, 6th Floor, Berkeley, CA 94720-2318

Cost: Free

The UCB Center for Chinese Studies presents an exhibition by Lampo Leong.

09/06/2007 - 01/20/2008: Zhang Huan: Altered States

2nd Floor Starr & Ross Galleries

Asia Society and Museum

725 Park Ave, New York, NY

Phone: 212-517-ASIA

This exhibition is the first ever museum retrospective of Zhang Huan, encompassing major works produced over the past 15 years in Beijing, New York, and Shanghai.