Good evening. President Biden’s executive order on U.S. outbound investments is both extraordinary — a notable step away from America’s devotion to open trade and investment principles — and also largely inconsequential, given its narrow scope. As a result, pushback to the rule has been swift from all sides, and our cover story this week dives into the debate. Elsewhere, we have infographics on China’s nuclear-powered future; an interview with Bob Lighthizer on where the U.S-China trade relationship goes from here; a reported piece on Confucius Institutes moving into the global South; and an op-ed from Paul Triolo about what Huawei’s new smartphone means for China, the U.S. and the global tech industry. If you’re not already a paid subscriber to The Wire, please sign up here.
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Out of Bounds
With its new outbound investment rule, the U.S. is hoping to stop American capital from facilitating China’s technological rise. But will the restrictions undermine the global competitiveness of American industry in the process? Luke Patey reports on the debate as part of “Remaking the Chain,” his series on the challenges, opportunities and consequences of de-risking from China.
The Big Picture: China’s Nuclear-Powered Future
China’s advances in nuclear energy have become another flashpoint with the United States. This week’s infographics by Aaron Mc Nicholas look at the state of China’s nuclear industry, the country’s progress on new nuclear technologies, and whether nuclear will be part of the U.S.-China tech competition in the future.
A Q&A with Bob Lighthizer
Robert E. Lighthizer is an attorney and longtime government official who most recently served as the U.S. Trade Representative during the Trump administration. For much of his career, he represented trade groups and criticized U.S. trade policies that he believes have undermined America’s manufacturing base and resulted in U.S. jobs being shifted overseas. This year, he published a book, No Trade Is Free: Changing Course, Taking on China, and Helping America’s Workers. In this week’s Q&A with David Barboza, he discusses what he thinks of the Biden administration’s approach and why the U.S. shouldn’t do a trade deal with Taiwan.
Robert Lighthizer
Illustration by Lauren Crow
China’s Confucius Institutes Go South
While Western governments are turning against Chinese cultural centers, developing countries are giving them a warmer welcome. Rachel Cheung reports.
What Huawei’s New Mate 60 Means for China, the U.S. and the Global Tech Industry
In this week’s op-ed, Paul Triolo argues that the debut of the Chinese giant’s new smartphone calls for a nuanced debate about how effective U.S. trade policy has been.
China Books Review Launch
Join us for the launch event of the China Books Review, a new online publication of the Asia Society Center on U.S.-China Relations and The Wire China. To usher in this new publication of commentary on China writings new and old, three generations of writers will talk about how the field of ‘China watching’ has changed over the decades. From the black box of the 1960s and 70s, to the opening of the 80s, to new realities post-Tiananmen, through the booming 2000s into the tightening 2010s and 2020s, what writers on China — both Chinese and outsiders — have witnessed and been able to document has changed dramatically. We survey these generational differences with three serial mini-interviews, in a whistle-stop tour of how the world of China writing got to where it is today.
EVENT DETAILS
IN-PERSON
Thu 12 Oct 2023
6:30 – 8 p.m.
725 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10021
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