U.S.-China Trade War Heats Up

The ongoing trade conflict between China and the United States, which until recently seemed near resolution, has intensified: On Monday, Beijing announced that it would increase tariffs on $60 billion of U.S. goods in retaliation for President Trump’s earlier decision to raise tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods. The president expressed optimism that American pressure on China would prove beneficial to the U.S. economy. But Wendy Cutler, vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, believes that a trade war between China and the U.S. may not be resolved anytime soon and is likely to damage both countries.

In an op-ed published in the New York Times, Cutler argued that “for China, the biggest hurdle is political: reaching a deal that satisfies the United States without appearing to cave to American pressure. There is also serious concern in Beijing that China might have problems delivering whatever it agrees to on paper, particularly if it is unable to rein in local governments — a major source of the subsidies and intellectual property practices that the United States wants to stop.”

Asia Blog has a round-up of more analysis on the U.S.-China economic relationship:

In the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Cutler said that “China’s pattern is to show restraint, match us, and no one can point to them as being the perpetrator.”
In March, Cutler joined economist Arthur Kroeber for an in-depth discussion of the U.S.-China trade relationship at Asia Society. Watch the complete video here. Earlier this month, she appeared on the Sinica podcast to explain why the U.S. should collaborate more with regional allies to address China’s economic practices, the subject of a recent issue paper Cutler authored.
In the Washington Post last week, Asia Society Policy Institute President Kevin Rudd wrote that “the uncomfortable truth is that [China and the United States] face a deepening divergence of values and interests.”

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ARTS

Lahore Literary Festival Takes New York

The New York iteration of one of South Asia’s premiere cultural events (a “safe place for dangerous ideas” as the Guardian put it) returned for the fourth year at Asia Society last weekend. The festival hosted seven separate discussions on the arts, literature, politics, and society of Pakistan and concluded with a poetry reading by renowned actor Zia Mohyeddin accompanied by flutist Haider Rahman. Visit the Asia Society New York blog to watch each panel discussion in full.

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PODCAST

Why Richard Holbrooke Clashed With Barack Obama

When President Barack Obama appointed Richard Holbrooke to oversee U.S. policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2009, the assignment seemed a fitting coda to a diplomatic career that included work in Vietnam, East Timor, and, most notably, Bosnia. But the relationship between the two men was not a happy one, as Obama quickly tired of Holbrooke’s diplomatic bombast and constant references to the Vietnam War.

In the latest episode of the Asia Abridged podcast, George Packer, author of an acclaimed new biography of Holbrooke, explains why Obama and Holbrooke could not see eye to eye — and why the diplomat’s tragic death in 2010 signified the passing of an era of American supremacy.

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ETC.

Reporting on Xinjiang, the Future of Hong Kong, Asian American Women Innovators

Here’s what else is going on:

Asia Society announced that a team from the Associated Press has won the 2019 Osborn Elliott Prize for Excellence in Journalism in Asia for their reporting on China’s brutal suppression of its Uighur minority. The honorees will be recognized in a ceremony at Asia Society on May 21 at 12:30 p.m. — you can watch the live webcast here. Previous winners of the Oz Elliott Prize include Evan Osnos, Keith Bradsher, Elisabeth Rosenthal, and Philip Pan.
Last week Asia Society hosted a panel discussion on the future of Hong Kong’s relationship with mainland China. Participants included Martin Lee, Nathan Law, and Mak Yin-Ting. Watch the complete video here.
Girls Who Code CEO Reshma Saujani and businesswoman and former Miss America Nina Davuluri shared their perspectives on the importance of Asian American women participation in the science, mathematics, engineering, and technology fields. Watch the complete video here.

UPCOMING EVENTS

The 2019 Diversity and Marketing Leadership Summit kicks off Wednesday, May 15, with a daylong series of discussions on empowering Asian talent, consumers, and investors in order to drive innovation and growth. The day concludes with the Best Companies for Asian Leadership Awards Dinner and will be followed by a full day of events on Thursday. Learn more about this signature event.
Also on May 16, Asia Society Texas presents a conversation about achieving better Asian representation in Hollywood with actors Julee Cerda and Salma Shaw as part of the Bank of America Women’s Leadership Series.
On May 20, Asia Society Northern California hosts a discussion of the U.S.-China relationship with Buck Gee, John Pomfret, and Andy Rothman. The talk begins at 6 p.m. at the Bechtel Conference Center in San Francisco.

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