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Polaris Live: Upcoming Events
Live conversations with global experts on World Affairs
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September 2023 Events
September 12th, 2023 • 9:30 AM EDT
Is the current torrent of negative public opinions and sentiments against China shaped by reasoning, facts, or logic, or by simple repeated assertations (existential threat, technology theft, genocide, forced labor, oppression, aggression … ) by politicians and the media resulting in repeated affirmation and dissemination to a receptive audience? In this toxic environment opinion polls are like checking if the temperature of a pot is rising. The rising spiral of toxicity now endangers the most consequential relationship --that between the United States and China--the two largest economies in the world.
Is the current torrent of negative public opinions and sentiments against China shaped by reasoning, facts, or logic, or by simple repeated assertations? Deng Xiaoping embarked the nation on a market-oriented reform 45 years ago. Since then, China’s economy has experienced non-stop growth. Just in this century, its GDP has grown by about 15 times. It’s now the largest economy in the world by purchasing power and the second largest in dollar terms. It is also the largest trading nation in the world, being the largest trading partner with more than 140 countries, out of a total of about 190. Whereas every market economy goes through economic cycles, China has miraculously been spared of a recession in 45 years. Its economy has noticeably slowed and the market sentiment has sapped. Is it heading into one now?
Shan Weijian is an economist, businessman, and author based in Hong Kong. Shan is the Executive Chairman of PAG, a leading alternative investment firm focused on the Asia Pacific region with more than USD 50 billion under management. Shan currently serves as a Trustee of The British Museum and as an independent director of Alibaba Group.
Weijian Shan • Money Machine
A Trail Blazing American Adventure In China
"The Money Machine," is Weijian Shan's third book, based on his leading role in steering the take over of Shanghai Development Bank by an American Private Equity Company.
Purchase the book HERE
September 19th, 2023 • 9:30 AM EDT
Professor Maria Repnikova, Georgia State University is a scholar of China’s political communication. A fluent Mandarin, Russian and Spanish speaker, she is also a non-residential Wilson China Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars. She received her doctorate (DPhil) in Politics at the University of Oxford where she was a Rhodes Scholar. She is an expert in media-state relations in China, including political persuasion and critical journalism; Chinese soft power and public diplomacy, especially in the African context; China-Russia comparisons.
Maria Repnikova • Media Politics in China
Improvising Power Under Authoritarianism
Drawing on rare access in the field, Maria Repnikova's book "Media Politics in China" examines the process of guarded improvisation that has defined this volatile partnership over the past decade on a routine basis and in the aftermath of major crisis events.
Purchase the book HERE
September 26th, 2023 • 9:30 AM EDT
Noel V. Lateef is the longest serving President of the Foreign Policy Association, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2018. Prior to joining the Foreign Policy Association in 1995, Mr. Lateef was Chairman of the Bowery Savings Bank. He was previously affiliated with Sullivan & Cromwell and the U.S. State Department. A distinguished graduate of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, he has authored numerous publications, including The Future of Higher Education in the Age of Globalization and In Pursuit of Peace: Conflict Prevention and World Order.
October 2023 Events
October 3rd, 2023 • 09:30 AM EDT
Luv Puri is a Fulbright scholar at New York University. He was a correspondent with the The Hindu for several years and has contributed to various media publications and academic journals. In 2006 he was one of the prizewinners of the European Commission Award for Human Rights and Democracy. His special fields of interest include the situation of South Asian Muslims, the Kashmir conflict and Pakistan.
Luv Puri • Across the LoC
Inside Pakistan-Administered Jammu and Kashmir
The kashmir issue has been a subject of international attention ever since the subcontinent was partitioned in1947 the clash between india and pakistan over the coveted territory led to the emergence of indian-administered and pakistan-administered areas while the social and political conditions in the former have been widely discussed, even among kashmir experts there is little knowledge of pakistan-administered jammu & kashmir (pajk), particularly its political, cultural and social aspects luv puri analyses the crucial pre-independence social and political processes which resulted in polarization within the state and the violence that wracked the region during partition he tracks the effect of those events on pakistan s punjab province and the ensuing impact on pakistan s position on the jammu & kashmir issue the relationship between pakistan and pajk is an important aspect of puri s research he traces the history of migration from mirpur to britain and the mirpuri diaspora s significant support to the early phase of militancy that arose in jammu & kashmir in 1989 this insurgency, which had its base in pajk, promised independence from both india and pakistan the book also discusses the many transformations in the pro-independence struggle from its inception to the present day across the inside pakistan-administered jammu and kashmir is a new and original contribution to the body of literature on the region and the role pajk has played in the larger jammu & kashmir tangle.
Purchase the book HERE
October 17th, 2023 • 09:30 AM EDT
Without warning the world has entered a very dangerous moment. With the impending Israel invasion of Gaza, in retribution for the massacre in Israel by Hamas militants; the gathering two powerful U.S. aircraft carrier groups in the Mediterranean Sea; the threat of further attacks in the West Bank; and the bifurcation, again, of the world between the West (largely supporting Israel) and the rest (largely supporting Palestine). Again, because the world is already in one war (Ukraine-Russia) with a similar division of sentiments. But this latest conflict comes as there is an unfolding power shift taking place in the Middle East: the emergence of China as a major commercial and political player upending the prior U.S. dominance in the Arab world. What next?
DANIEL KURTZER
Joining Princeton’s faculty in 2006 following a 29-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service, Daniel Kurtzer retired from the Foreign Service with the rank of career minister. He has served, successively, as the United States Ambassador to Israel and to Egypt.
He is the co-author of Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace: American Leadership in the Middle East. He is the author or co-author of numerous best-selling books including The Peace Puzzle: America’s Quest for Arab-Israeli Peace,
LARRY GOODSON
Larry P. Goodson is Professor of Middle East Studies at the U.S. Army War College, where he is the only person to hold the General Dwight D. Eisenhower Chair of National Security twice. In AY19 he WAS on sabbatical from the War College as a Visiting Fellow in the Changing Character of War Center, Pembroke College, Oxford University. Dr. Goodson has been continually called upon to serve as a regional advisor on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Middle East by senior U.S. military and political leaders.
Among his other academic appointments, Dr. Goodson taught at the American University in Cairo and conducted field work in Peshawar, Pakistan. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling "Afghanistan's Endless War: State Failure, Regional Politics, and the Rise of the Taliban," as well as numerous chapters and articles. Dr. Goodson has lectured on Afghanistan, Pakistan, Islam, and the Middle East to audiences at more than 100 universities, schools, and organizations.
October 24th, 2023 • 11:30 AM EDT
Without warning the world has entered a very dangerous moment. With the impending Israel invasion of Gaza, in retribution for the massacre in Israel by Hamas militants; the gathering two powerful U.S. aircraft carrier groups in the Mediterranean Sea; the threat of further attacks in the West Bank; and the bifurcation, again, of the world between the West (largely supporting Israel) and the rest (largely supporting Palestine). Again, because the world is already in one war (Ukraine-Russia) with a similar division of sentiments. But this latest conflict comes as there is an unfolding power shift taking place in the Middle East: the emergence of China as a major commercial and political player upending the prior U.S. dominance in the Arab world. What next?
JAMES KETTERER
Dean James Ketterer is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Civic Engagement at Bard College, where he previously served as Dean of International Studies and Director of the Bard Globalization and International Affairs program. He recently completed a 4-year term in Egypt as the Dean of the School of Continuing Education at the American University in Cairo; in 2011-2013 he was Egypt Country Director for Amideast. He has also served in government at the state and federal levels, including the Near East-South Asia office of the National Security Council.
CHIP USHER
William “Chip” Usher is the Senior Director for Intelligence at the Special Competitiveness Studies Project. Prior to SCSP, Chip served 32 years in the Central Intelligence Agency where he held a variety of executive positions. Chip is a former member of the Senior Intelligence Service and has expertise on East Asia, the Near East, and Eurasia. He is passionate about enhancing the US Intelligence Community’s ability to deliver timely, relevant intelligence insights to US decision makers.
October 26th, 2023 • 09:00 AM EDT
Impact of the Hamas-Israel war on the Israel-Egypt-Palestine economy. How will China's balanced stand on the war affect its growing trade and diplomatic links with Israel and the wider Middle East. Will the war strengthen the China-Russia alliance, will it weaken U.S. - Middle East links. Is the 2 State Solution still the long-term solution to an Israeli-Palestinian rapprochement?
ZHU Zhaoyi is a Professor and Inaugural Director, Israel Center, University of International Business and Economics, Peking University, Beijing.
October 31st, 2023 • 9:30 AM EDT
American writer Mark Twain famously said," Reports about my death are greatly exaggerated!" A phrase that could well be applied to the almost continuous barrage of articles in the Western press about China's collapsing economy, according to Nicholas Michelon. A contrarian opinion from a noted observer of the Ecole de Guerre Economique. "Ask Chinese citizens whether they are satisfied with their country's economy and you get a very different response from what one would get if one were to ask an American or European about their own country's economy, he says.
Nicolas is a Partner at Confluence Consultants, a geopolitical risk & business intelligence consultancy in Dubai, and the Founder & Editor of asiapowerwatch.com. Corporate advisor on how to navigate the current geopolitical and geo-economic environment, mitigate risk and develop prospective scenarios. He is Adjunct Professor of geopolitics, geoeconomics of the Indo-Pacific and business intelligence at ESCP Business School, EM Lyon, Ecole de Guerre Economique (Paris School of Economic Warfare) and the International University of Monaco.
November 2023 Events • Coming Soon
November 7th, 2023 • 9:30 AM EDT
As more investors and novice corporate finance executives outside China begin to begin their journey tapping into China's long term growth, and Chinese investors into investment opportunities in the West, they will likely want to know more how about a novel channel - Stock Connect. - and its implications on local and global financial markets.
This significant and timely book explores a novel market mechanism, Stock Connect, which gives mutual market access to Chinese and international investors, and provides original analyses and fresh insights. This mechanism could become the new normal in future global financial integration.
FLORA HUANG is a professor of law and business at Derby Law School in the UK. She specializes in Chinese law, arbitration, international trade and investment law. She has published numerous books and journal articles, and has a strong record of funding, in Chinese legal systems and Chinese integration with the global financial system. She has worked for international organizations including the Basel Convention in Geneva and the Office of Legal Affairs of the UNHQ in New York. She is also an advisor to the Legatum Institute, and is an associate member of Whistleblowers UK, working to promote the Whistleblowing bill in the UK. Currently, she serves as the EU Chairperson for Arbitrations and Trade-and-Sustainable-Development Expert Panel Proceedings at the European Commission. She is also an arbitrator of the China Guangzhou Arbitration Commission, and has held the position of Central Asian Legal Research Fellow in Uzbekistan in 2022-23.
November 17th, 2023 • 9:15 AM EDT
Two Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, will meet Wednesday 15 November for their most consequential diplomatic rendezvous in many years.
The world has many questions for them including:
"Whether the United States and China are inevitably cruising toward confrontation or whether the two countries can strike some balance between engagement and competition, and, in the process, bring stability to the world.
The U.S. hopes to resume military communications that were broken off last year and China hopes that the U.S. will emphatically recognize Beijing as the sole government of China.
"But, there is hope"
“We have a $700 billion trading relationship with China. The vast majority — 99 percent of that — has nothing to do with export controls,” Gina Raimondo, the commerce secretary, told CNN this weekend.
"Xi told a visiting U.S. congressional delegation last month that there were “a thousand reasons to make U.S.- China relations better, and no reason to make them worse (Slate Magazine.)
Still, China's economy is stumbling and Xi Jinping could use some U.S. help; meanwhile, Biden is in full election mode and could use some patience and understanding from China.
One of China's most astute observers will provide Polaris Live viewers with an early China perspective on this meeting.
ZHA Daojiong
Professor of International Political Economy in the School of International Studies and the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development, Peking University, Beijing, China.
His areas of expertise include non-traditional security studies, international political economy and China’s international economic relations. His research publications cover such topics as energy, cross-boundary water management, development aid and public health, and international development cooperation. He also contributes opinion pieces in newspapers including the South China Morning Post. He studied at the University of Hawaii and the East West Center, where he earned a Doctorate in Political Science. Before joining the faculty of Peking University, he taught in the University of Macau, International University of Japan, Miyazaki International College, and Renmin University of China.
November 17th, 2023 • 12:00 PM EDT
Two Presidents, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, met Wednesday 15 November for their most consequential diplomatic rendezvous in many years.
The world had many questions for them including:
The future of a their $700 billion trading relationship. Will it survive?
The future of Taiwan and the seas around China?
Will the two superpowers' militaries ever return each others phone calls?
How much did this meeting accomplish?
China's economy is stumbling and Xi Jinping could use some U.S. help; meanwhile, Joe Biden is in full election mode and could use some patience and understanding from China.
BONNIE S. GLASER
She is managing director of GMF’s Indo-Pacific program. She is also a nonresident fellow with the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Australia, and a senior associate with the Pacific Forum. She is a co-author of US-Taiwan Relations: Will China's Challenge Lead to a Crisis (Brookings Press, April 2023). She was previously senior adviser for Asia and the director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Glaser has worked at the intersection of Asia-Pacific geopolitics and US policy for more than three decades.
Ms. Glaser has published widely, including the Washington Quarterly, China Quarterly, Far Eastern Economic Review, and Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, New York Times and Wall Street Journal.
November 28th, 2023 • 9:30 AM EDT
Why it is that in the war with Ukraine, even after the death of thousands of Russians servicemen and women, the Russian people have not overthrown Mr. Putin?
• Is the China/Russia partnership is an alliance of convenience? What is the glue that holds the alliance together. Is this alliance a permanent change in their relationship?
• Might it be possible, even after the horrors of this conflict, as part of a long-term settlement to this war to include Russia in a Europe-wide security compact?
• Was the Mid-East conflict a gift to Russia in that the West is more divided. How might the ME conflict impact the China/Russia compact?
DR. THOMAS SHERLOCK
Professor emeritus of political science at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. His writing does not represent the views of the U.S. government, the Department of the Army, or the U.S. Military Academy. Thom’s opinion pieces have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times (international edition), the Washington Post and other news outlets. He has served as a consultant or project manager for the Carnegie Council, the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Open Society Foundations (Ukraine), and EUROCLIO in The Netherlands, among other institutions. He frequently conducts field research in post-Soviet space, including the supervision of large-N national surveys and focus groups in Russia.