Public Events
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Previous Events
Decoding China Series
With our University of Chicago partner, we created the “Decoding China” series to explore current issues related to the economy, politics, society, and geopolitics. These events are live and in-person and are open to the public but require registration. Previous talks can be viewed on our YouTube channel.
September 13, 2023
Decoding China (Live): The Chinese Economic Miracle, Interrupted?
November 2, 2021
Decoding China (Virtual): MacroPolo’s Damien Ma and Houze Song have a wide-ranging conversation about what’s going on with Chinese politics and policies ahead of an important political transition.
June 8, 2021
Decoding China (Virtual): MacroPolo’s Damien Ma and Brooking’s Cheng Li engage in conversation over Cheng’s book on Shanghai’s middle class and how it has changed China.
April 30, 2020
Decoding China (Virtual): MacroPolo’s Houze Song and Damien Ma provide their view of China’s post-pandemic economic rebound and take live audience questions.
December 11, 2019
Decoding China (Live): Award-winning director Hao Wu in conversation with Damien Ma about “People’s Republic of Desire”, a documentary on the live-streaming industry in China.
November 11, 2019
Decoding China (Live): MacroPolo’s Matt Sheehan in conversation with Damien Ma about Sheehan’s book “The Transpacific Experiment” that documents connections between the US and China.
Contemporary China Speaker Series
In conjunction with the Harris School of Public Policy, the Contemporary China Speakers series is focused on delivering regular lectures and talks to the University of Chicago community. All previous talks can be viewed on our YouTube channel.
May 30, 2019
Maria Repnikova, Assistant Professor in Global Communication at Georgia State University, gives a book talk on media and propaganda in authoritarian systems.
April 29, 2019
New Yorker journalist Jiayang Fan gives talk on the evolution of American media’s coverage of China.
March 5, 2019
Former Liberian official Gyude Moore gives a scintillating and memorable talk that challenges the conventional wisdom on Africa’s engagement with China.
January 9, 2019
Historian Julian Gewirtz gives tour de force overview of the complicated yet largely cooperative US-China relationship over the decades.
November 7, 2018
CSIS Senior Adviser and national security expert Bonnie Glaser talks about the crucial but evolving role China is playing in the Korean peninsula.
October 8, 2018
William Overholt, Senior Research Fellow at Harvard University, presents the provocative argument that China is trapped in its own economic success.
May 15, 2018
Wendy Cutler, former Deputy USTR, recounts the history of trade negotiations with China, from WTO accession to today.
April 16, 2018
NPR reporter Scott Tong shares the intimate and personal journey of tracing his roots in China in his book talk.
March 7, 2018
FP journalist Isaac Stone Fish discusses the trials and tribulations of working as a journalist in mainland China.
February 6, 2018
In her book talk, University of Virginia media scholar Aynne Kokas unpacks “Chollywood”, the growing connections between Hollywood and China’s entertainment industry.
January 10, 2018
Fletcher School’s Kelly Sims Gallagher, a former Obama administration climate adviser, provides a comprehensive overview of China’s climate goals and ambitions.
November 3, 2017
Former Australian national security advisor Andrew Shearer covers the importance of America’s Asian alliances in dealing with the China challenge.
October 13, 2017
Harvard Kennedy School’s Graham Allison presents his provocative and influential thesis on great power competition in his book talk.
May 19, 2017
Economist by day, parody rapper by night, Andrew Dougherty rhapsodizes about China’s economic woes and gives a “talk” unlike any other.
May 1, 2017
Through a historic lens, former US Ambassador to China Stapleton Roy recounts his storied career and engagement with China through the decades.
April 10, 2017
The late David Dollar of the Brookings Institution examines how China’s economic weight has changed globally and what it means.
March 29, 2017
Author and Brookings Institution expert Tanvi Madan provides an insightful look into the complicated relationship between Asia’s two giants.
February 21, 2017
Sinica host and former rocker Kaiser Kuo brings his erudition, wry wit, and first-hand experience in a talk on China’s internet landscape.
January 30, 2017
Author and scholar Michael Auslin elucidates thought-provoking scenarios of Asia’s future as it enters a period of uncertainty.
November 4, 2016
Former policymakers for both Democratic and Republican administrations, the late Jeff Bader and Dennis Wilder highlight the shifting bipartisan consensus on US-China policy.
October 11, 2016
Researcher Peter Mattis provides detailed breakdown of Chinese official texts to understand and interpret China’s grand strategy.
May 16, 2016
Consummate China hand and economist Arthur Kroeber gives an englightening book talk on what everyone needs to know about China’s economy.
April 11, 2016
Former US national security official and Taiwan expert Alan Romberg offers his views of Taiwan-mainland China relations shortly after Tsai Ing-Wen’s election.
March 21, 2016
Harvard scholar Iain Johnston presents insightful results from his long-running study of the manifestations of Chinese nationalism.
February 17, 2016
Former China reporter Eric Fish gives a book talk on Chinese Millennials and how the new generation could reshape China.
January 21, 2016
A performance artist and entrepreneur, Alison Friedman discusses the state of the Chinese performance arts industry and cross-border collaboration in the arts.
November 12, 2015
Journalist Gady Epstein brings his deep experience covering China to explain how China’s political system is more resilient than observers might expect.
October 15, 2015
Former US State Department official Tom Christensen gives a book talk on how America will have to manage the rising China challenge.
May 7, 2015
Former Financial Times’ Beijing bureau chief Geoff Dyer outlines how US-China competition will define the 21st century in his book talk.
April 14, 2015
A leading scholar on Asia, the late Ezra Vogel brings his decades of experience in this compelling talk on the thorny China-Japan relationship.
February 24, 2015
Victor Cha, former US national security official, takes the pulse of the China-North Korean relationship and the risks posed to US interests in the region.
January 8, 2015
Retired Rear Admiral Michael McDevitt marshals his 30-year career in the Asian theater to shed light on China’s maritime strategy.
November 20, 2014
Pioneering Vlogger and Chinese social media sensation Jessica Beinecke talks about her experience and the role she plays in US-China people-to-people exchanges.
October 21, 2014
Nicholas Lardy, China economy expert at the Peterson Institute, unpacks the recent phenomenon of an advancing state sector and retreating private sector.
May 21, 2014
In his book talk, New Yorker China correspondent Evan Osnos paints a compelling portrait of today’s China imbued with confidence and optimism.
April 30, 2014
Former policymaker and experienced China hand Doug Paal gives a rundown of President Obama’s whirlwind Asia trip and why it matters for US security.
March 20, 2014
A former Chinese soap opera star turned professor and former professor turned consultant, the Dewoskin father-daughter team discusses the growing restrictions in China’s public sphere.
February 27, 2014
Writer and historian Thant Myint-U dives into China-Myanmar relations in his book talk.
January 24, 2014
Journalist turned business consultant, James McGregor brings his wealth of China experience to discuss what has changed and what has remained the same.
November 14, 2013
Orville Schell, scholar and former journalist, dissects how enduring concepts in Chinese history shapes its present politics and ambitions.
October 17, 2013
Former World Bank official and Carnegie scholar Yukon Huang examines regional disparities and how they shape the Chinese economy.