The Year of the Horse, Viruses, Tigers, Flies, Ravenous Carp, and Vanishing Pangolins

Join The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars for a look at the year that was, from both Chinese and American points of view (with notes on the outlook for pangolins).

It has been a good two weeks in the relationship. President Obama and General Secretary Xi used the November APEC meetings in Beijing to announce enhanced cooperation on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, new openness in visa policy, and improved military communications in the Western Pacific. They also spurred negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty and agreed to eliminate tariffs on a range of information technology products.

It may be that, during the seven hours they spent together in China, Obama and Xi reached new understandings, found new momentum, or established a new style that can set the U.S. and China on a more constructive path. But 2014 was a hard slog for both countries prior to the APEC meetings. Mutual mistrust increased throughout the year, starting from a low baseline, due to conflicts in the East and South China Seas, protests in Hong Kong, mutual recriminations in Singapore, punishment of American companies and journalists in Beijing, and cyber attacks nearly everywhere.

Join us for a look at the year that was, from both Chinese and American points of view (with notes on the outlook for pangolins).

Speakers

Ambassador J. Stapleton Roy
Wilson Center Distinguished Scholar

Wang Guan
Senior U.S. Correspondent, China Central TV America

Yun Sun
East Asia Fellow, The Stimson Center

Moderator

Robert Daly
Director, Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, The Wilson Center