U.S.-China Relations in the 21st Century: Friend or Foe?

America's love/hate relationship with China began a long time ago, but has particularly blown hot and cold since PLA tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing fourteen years ago. Over the past two decades, Foreign Service Officer Stephen M. Young '73 has worked in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and in our country's unofficial office in Taiwan. He will explore the roots of American ambivalence toward the Celestial Kingdom, describe the current U.S. approach to the relationship, and consider some of the future scenarios that could affect what many consider the single most important bilateral relationship the United States has today.

Presenter: Stephen M. Young '73, Director of the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs, U.S. Department of State