On September 29, 2024, the USC U.S.-China Institute hosted a workshop at the Huntington’s Chinese garden, offering K-12 educators hands-on insights into using the garden as a teaching tool. With expert presentations, a guided tour, and new resources, the event explored how Chinese gardens' rich history and cultural significance can be integrated into classrooms. Interested in learning more? Click below for details on the workshop and upcoming programs for educators.
China Then and Now
The Center for Chinese Studies at the University of California, Berkeley presents a talk with Nicholas Platt.
Where
Speaker/Performer:
Nicholas Platt, President Emeritus, The Asia Society
Nicholas Platt, long-time China specialist, three-time U.S. Ambassador (Pakistan, Zambia and the Philippines), and author of the recently published memoir China Boys, will share his
experiences and insights gained from a long and distinguished career in the diplomatic service and as President of the Asia Society in New York for 12 years.
As a young diplomatic officer in the early 1960s, when Communist China was firmly closed to the west, Platt took the unusual step of studying Mandarin. This put him in a key position when U.S. relations to China suddenly opened. Platt was one of the State Department officials chosen to accompany President Nixon on his historic visit to China in 1973. The following year he and his family were stationed in Beijing with the opening of a U.S. Liaison Office, the forerunner of the U.S. Embassy in the PRC.
Showing some of his 'home movie' footage of the Nixon trip, and film of family and diplomatic events, and reading from his memoir, Platt will talk about life in China in 1973. As a former president of the Asia society, which oversees numerous contacts and exchanges with China, and a frequent visitor and lecturer in the PRC, Platt is in a unique position to compare those early days of diplomatic contact to relations with the West today, as China now emerges as a major player on the world stage and an economic Power house.
Featured Articles
Happy Lunar New Year from the USC US-China Institute!
Events
Ying Zhu looks at new developments for Chinese and global streaming services.
David Zweig examines China's talent recruitment efforts, particularly towards those scientists and engineers who left China for further study. U.S. universities, labs and companies have long brought in talent from China. Are such people still welcome?