China: Fragile Superpower: How China's Internal Politics Could Derail Its Peaceful Rise

Susan L. Shirk speaks on China as a rising power and the challenges it faces due to new openness and economic growth.

April 12, 2007, 6:30 - 8:00pm
National Association of Home Builders - Conference Center
1201 15th St., NW, Washington, DC 20005
WACDC Members/Students: $5    Non-Members: $10
Registration for the event is available online at www.worldaffairsdc.org or call (202) 293-1051
A Light Reception Will Follow the Author's Remarks

SUSAN L. SHIRK
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State

Moderated by:
RICHARD SOLOMON
President of the United States Institute of Peace

Once a sleeping giant, China is now the world's fastest growing economy, a dramatic turnaround that raises concerns on the part of many observers.  In this engaging book, Dr. Shirk argues that rising powers such as China tend to provoke wars in large part because other countries mishandle them.  She examines China's internal politics and how its leaders respond to the challenges presented by new openness to the outside world and miraculous economic growth.  China:  Fragile Superpower provides invaluable insight from an experienced China scholar who seeks to deepen understanding of the roots of Chinese foreign policy, in the hope that potential conflicts born out of mutual misunderstanding can be avoided.

Dr. Susan Shirk is former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, with responsibility for the People's Republic of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mongolia. Currently, she is a professor at the University of California, San Diego's Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies and serves as the Director of the University of California's Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Dr. Shirk met with top Chinese officials throughout her career and continues her research on China, while producing numerous publications on Chinese politics and foreign policy. Her latest book titled China: Fragile Superpower will be published March 31, 2007.

We are pleased to have Dr. Richard Solomon, the President of the United States Institute of Peace, moderating the event. Dr. Solomon served as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs from 1989 to 1992. He had a leading role in many peacemaking efforts and agreements throughout Asia during his tenure. He also served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines.