October 7, 2009
Trends in U.S. - China Relations
Thomas Christensen
Professor, Politics and International Affairs,
Woodrow Wilson School
Minutes of the Fourth Meeting of the 68th Year
President George Hansen opened the 4th meeting of the 68th year at 10:15 a.m. Approximately 100 members were present. Don Edwards led the convocation. President Hansen introduced his guest, Jimmy Dahlsten from Sweden.
Nine new members, elected the previous week, were formally inducted. They are:
Julia Coale, sponsored by Rosemary O’Brien
Gloria Erlich, sponsored by Jim Livingston
Luke Finlay, sponsored by Richard Hanson
Alison Lahnston, sponsored by Claire Jacobus
Owen Leach, sponsored by Harvey Rothberg
Bradford Mills, sponsored by Lucien Yokana
Joel Spiegelman, sponsored by Marc Klaban
Ralph Tottenham-Smith, sponsored by the late David Dodge
Letitia Ufford, sponsored by Claire Jacobus
Minutes of the previous meeting, which included both personal anecdotes of various members as well as a presentation by Michael Lemonick on How William Herschel Invented Modern Astronomy, were read by James. J. Ferry.
Ruth Miller introduced the speaker, Thomas J. Christensen, a professor of politics and international affairs and the director of the China and the World Program, which is a joint venture between Princeton and Harvard Universities. Professor Christensen received his B.A. from Haverford College, M.A. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania, and Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University. He has taught at Cornell University and MIT and has served on the Executive Committee of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. In 2002, he was was presented with a Distinguished Public Service Award by the United States Department of State and from 2006-2008 he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs with responsibility for relations with China, Taiwan, and Mongolia.
Professor Christensen’s talk on “Trends in U.S. – China Relations” drew heavily on his Washington Quarterly July 2009 article, “Shaping the Choices of a Rising China: Recent Lessons for the Obama Administration.” That article and his opening remarks today emphasized that all opinions were his own and did not represent the view of the U.S. Department of State. While the article was vetted by the Government, his talk today was not and Professor Christensen felt it would be best if the official minutes of today’s meeting were provided with a link to the article rather than this writer’s interpretation of his remarks. Accordingly, those who wish to read Professor Christensen’s article, should go to https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01636600903012323. If the link no longer exists, search for “Shaping the Choices of a Rising China: Recent Lessons for the Obama Administration.”
Respectfully submitted,
Patricia A. Taylor
Nine new members, elected the previous week, were formally inducted. They are:
Julia Coale, sponsored by Rosemary O’Brien
Gloria Erlich, sponsored by Jim Livingston
Luke Finlay, sponsored by Richard Hanson
Alison Lahnston, sponsored by Claire Jacobus
Owen Leach, sponsored by Harvey Rothberg
Bradford Mills, sponsored by Lucien Yokana
Joel Spiegelman, sponsored by Marc Klaban
Ralph Tottenham-Smith, sponsored by the late David Dodge
Letitia Ufford, sponsored by Claire Jacobus
Minutes of the previous meeting, which included both personal anecdotes of various members as well as a presentation by Michael Lemonick on How William Herschel Invented Modern Astronomy, were read by James. J. Ferry.
Ruth Miller introduced the speaker, Thomas J. Christensen, a professor of politics and international affairs and the director of the China and the World Program, which is a joint venture between Princeton and Harvard Universities. Professor Christensen received his B.A. from Haverford College, M.A. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania, and Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University. He has taught at Cornell University and MIT and has served on the Executive Committee of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. In 2002, he was was presented with a Distinguished Public Service Award by the United States Department of State and from 2006-2008 he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs with responsibility for relations with China, Taiwan, and Mongolia.
Professor Christensen’s talk on “Trends in U.S. – China Relations” drew heavily on his Washington Quarterly July 2009 article, “Shaping the Choices of a Rising China: Recent Lessons for the Obama Administration.” That article and his opening remarks today emphasized that all opinions were his own and did not represent the view of the U.S. Department of State. While the article was vetted by the Government, his talk today was not and Professor Christensen felt it would be best if the official minutes of today’s meeting were provided with a link to the article rather than this writer’s interpretation of his remarks. Accordingly, those who wish to read Professor Christensen’s article, should go to https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01636600903012323. If the link no longer exists, search for “Shaping the Choices of a Rising China: Recent Lessons for the Obama Administration.”
Respectfully submitted,
Patricia A. Taylor