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POLICY
Introducing
the Belt and Road Matrix
A
couple of weeks ago, we told you about Navigating the Belt and Road, a groundbreaking
new report co-authored by Asia Society Policy Institute Vice
President Daniel
Russel that lays out a series of recommendations for
China to improve its signature Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). To help
visualize the scope of this project, we created an interactive matrix
that reveals ways to build a cleaner, greener, cheaper, more open, and
more collaborative BRI. There’s plenty more to explore at the project’s
website — check it
out.
Watch Russel explain more about the project in this
short video. Last week, he sat down with a panel of experts
to discuss the Belt and Road Initiative in greater detail. Watch the
complete video here.
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CURRENT
AFFAIRS
A Dramatic
Week for U.S.-Iran Relations
The
already-tense relationship between the United States and Iran took a
dramatic turn last week. After the Iranian military shot down an
unmanned American surveillance drone, President Donald Trump
reportedly came close to launching a retaliatory strike before
changing his mind, claiming that the high number of
projected casualties did not constitute a “proportional” response to
the incident.
The incident was merely the latest indication that just over a year
after President Trump withdrew
the United States from the Iran Nuclear Deal, the two
countries now appear on the verge of conflict. Karim Sadjadpour,
a member of Asia Society’s Global
Council and an Asia 21
Young Leader, wrote in
The Atlantic
that President Trump’s Iran policy “has had the coherence of a Jackson Pollock
painting.” But, Sadjadpour added, “the reality is that Iran is in a
much greater bind. A U.S. military strike on Iran might have been
averted for now, but Iran’s deteriorating economic circumstances cannot
likely be reversed absent an accommodation of the United States.”
More: Last December, veteran diplomat Frank Wisner discussed
U.S.-Iran relations at an Asia Society India program held in Mumbai.
You can watch
the full video here.
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CURRENT
AFFAIRS
Hong Kong
Protests, Redux
Arguably
no living American has had a greater impact on U.S.-China relations
than Henry
Kissinger who, as President Richard Nixon’s
national security advisor, orchestrated the resumption of ties between
the two countries during a series of visits in the early 1970s. Nearly
a half-century later, dismay over China’s political and economic
trajectory has become a recurring theme in President Trump’s political
messaging.
As a young diplomat, Winston
Lord accompanied Kissinger on those initial visits to
China, later serving as ambassador to the People’s Republic during the
Reagan presidency. Lord, author of the new book Kissinger
on Kissinger, discussed the legacy of the
American opening to China in a
recent conversation with Orville Schell at Asia Society
New York.
“We all hoped that China would be in a better place in terms of world
citizenship and opening up its political system,” Lord said. “But we
were not naive. … I don’t buy the conventional wisdom in some corners
that all of us were fools and dupes and didn’t know what the hell we
were doing.”
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ARTS
Previewing
'Voyage to the East'
The
story of how Buddhism came to Japan, Voyage
to the East is a new opera by composer Tang Jianping.
The Metropolitan Opera's Tian
Hao Jiang stars as Jiazhen, the Chinese monk credited
with introducing both Buddhism and aspects of Tang dynasty Chinese
culture to Japan, laying the groundwork for subsequent exchange between
the two countries. In a special preview and discussion held at Asia Society
New York, Tian, Tang, and the rest of the creative team shared musical
excerpts and conversations about the work prior to its Lincoln Center
debut later this year. You can watch the complete
video here.
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CURRENT
AFFAIRS
Being An
Asian American in Politics
Asian
Americans, long a coveted voting demographic, have achieved
increased visibility as government officials, members of
Congress, and presidential candidates. Last week Asia Society New York
welcomed Reps. Grace
Meng (D-NY) and Andy
Kim (D-NJ) for a wide-ranging discussion about
political agency in Asian American communities, their paths through
politics, and their views on public service.
Click
here to see our look at 10 influential Asian Americans making
waves in U.S. politics and government.
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ET CETERA
Carrie
Lam's Future, Xi Jinping's Diplomacy, and More
Here’s
what else is going on:
- Orville
Schell discussed the recent Hong Kong protests with KCBS Radio. He
said that the fate of the territory’s chief executive
will ultimately matter little. “If Carrie Lam leaves, nothing
will change,” he said.
- Chinese
President Xi
Jinping is in the midst of a busy diplomatic
season, making his first ever visit to North Korea weeks before a
planned encounter with President Trump on the sidelines of the
upcoming G20 summit. Daniel Russel discussed
Xi’s visit to Pyongyang with CNN, while Wendy Cutler told
the South
China Morning Post that expectations for
the Xi-Trump visit should be “kept in check.”
- In
a recent op-ed published in Nikkei
Asian Review, Kevin
Rudd argued that economic decoupling between China
and the United States has
already begun whether or not the two countries manage
to strike a deal in the near future — one that Rudd said
on CNBC that Xi has an economic incentive to make.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
- On
June 25, Asia Society Northern California hosts Barbara Finamore
for
a discussion of her new book Will China Save the
Planet? in San Francisco.
- On
June 26, the Argentine dancer Martin Piliponsky will
perform with cellist Justin
Siu at Asia Society Hong Kong following a brief
talk as part of the fourth annual International Choreography
Festival. Tickets
are available here.
- And on July 2, United
States Consul General Kurt
W. Tong will discuss the current state of
U.S.-China relations at Asia Society Hong Kong. Click here for
more information.
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JOIN & SUPPORT
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and institutions of Asia and the United States.
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