Happy Lunar New Year from the USC US-China Institute!
USC and China in the News, May and June, 2019
China-related news involving USC research, faculty, students and organizations.
June 26, 2019
Click here for earlier media notes involving USC faculty, staff and students and China.
June 26, 2019: South China Morning Post
An article about Liu Young-way, named to succeed Terry Gou as chairman of Foxconn, the world’s biggest contract electronics manufacturer, noted that Liu received a master’s degree in electrical engineering from USC.
June 24, 2019: BBC
David Craig of the USC Annenberg School was interviewed about social media influencers in China. He said, that the Chinese industry “has accelerated far more quickly and provides more lucrative careers for its creators.”
June 18, 2019: South China Morning Post
Research by USC accounting scholar T. J. Wong and co-authors from the Chinese University of Hong Kong was reported on. The study looked at whether or not social media could correct for the positive bias in Chinese state media about stocks. The study looked at least one article in traditional media and at least three social media posts on the same day. Altogether 970,000 firm/day posts were examined. They found that posts to the East Guba forum were less positive and a correction for more positive coverage in the traditional media.
June 18, 2019: Bloomberg
USC director of undergraduate admissions Kirk Brennan was cited in an article about the trade war’s potential impact on students coming from China. Brennan was in China and noted that student orientations in Shanghai and Beijing had gone just fine and that USC hadn’t yet had to confront the possibility of reduced interest from China.
June 13, 2019: Politico
Greg Autry of the USC Marshall School of Business was quoted in a story about the US and China rivalry in going to the moon. He said, “Chinese progress has been incredibly slow given the access they had to all of this stuff and a half-century of history to analyze on the way… They’ve done zero new things beyond going to a different location on the moon.” He noted, however, “[I]t is good to have a competitor. It gives us a sense of mission.” He concludes, though that NASA doesn’t really understand the commercial prospects of advancing in space.
June 13, 2019: Deadline
Stanley Rosen, USC political scientist, was quoted in an article about Hollywood’s nervousness about the trade war. Rosen said that when China is unhappy, to “punish that country with the strongest tool in their tool kit: access to the Chinese market.” Rosen notes, though, that China has good reason to keep importing Hollywood films as it wants to expand its film market.
June 13, 2019: Talking Points Memo
Rebecca Lonergan of the USC Gould School of Law and a former prosecutor was interviewed for a story on the Yujing Zhang. Zhang is a Chinese citizen who was arrested at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club with electronic equipment. Prosecutors asked the court for permission to submit “classified information” that would not be disclosed to Zhang or to the public. Lonergan said, ““We can’t tell from the fact of the CIPA filing whether it indicates that she is involved in espionage.”
June 13, 2019: China Daily
An article about a new series of books on Beijing Opera noted that the USC library is one of those which has the books.
June 11, 2019: Nikkei Asian Review
Liu Young-way 劉揚偉, a USC alum, was quoted and discussed in an article about how Foxconn may deal with the ongoing U.S.-China trade war. Liu heads Foxconn’s semiconductor division and is widely expected to take over for Chairman Terry Gou who is planning to run for president of Taiwan. Liu said that it will be necessary to move iPhone production outside of China. He also said the company was stepping up its plans to build a plant in Wisconsin. Liu was cited in a number of other publications including the Wall Street Journal.
June 6, 2019: Architectural Record
USC professor of architecture (and the dean of architecture, 2007-2017) Qingyun Ma’s Shaanxi winery is featured, with particular emphasis on his newly completed GateHall. The 21,000 square foot building “is a hybrid that’s simultaneously familiar and odd.” Ma started the winery in 2000 and has long seen it “as an experiment in cultural and architectural cross-fertilization.” “The goal is to integrate culture, agriculture, and nature,” says Ma.
May 31, 2019: Chronicle of Higher Education
An article about rising tension between the U.S. and China and the place of university labs in this environment noted that three Chinese researchers who earned doctorates at USC were accused in 2015 of engaging in industrial espionage. After graduation, the researchers went to work for American companies. The three were accused of stealing secrets from those companies and using them to create a lab at Tianjin University.
May 31, 2019: China Daily
Clayton Dube of the USC U.S.-China Institute was quoted in an article about the downturn in Chinese visitors to the United States. Dube noted that the current trade friction may have caused some Chinese to see the U.S. as a less welcoming place, but he thought most of the decline could be attributed to the economic slowdown in China. He also noted that most Americans and American businesses remain eager to welcome Chinese to visit.
May 29, 2019: South China Morning Post
USC political scientist Stanley Rosen was quoted in a story about Chinese efforts to communicate with Americans. He said, “[China’s officials] want to send a message that this is a long-term problem, that it’s all the US’ fault and that China is a long civilization that can outlast these threats.”
May 28, 2019: KPCC
A discussion on the NPR affiliate of American nervousness over the rise of Huawei included comments from Clayton Dube of the USC U.S.-China Institute. Dube noted that Huawei was both a beneficiary and a driver of China’s incredible telecommunications rise. American officials worry that networks are only as safe as their weakest link and have pushed to exclude Huawei from U.S. networks.
May 26, 2019: Pandaily
Ben Lee, USC Annenberg communication management specialist, was quoted in an article about Chinese "influencers," individuals who have a large online following. He said, “It is clear that this [being an influencer] is a job for them."
May 16, 2019: World Journal 世界日報
A Q and A with Clayton Dube of the USC U.S.-China Institute on the trade war between China and the U.S. was published. Dube noted that both sides were currently losers in the standoff, but that both had benefitted from economic ties in the past and could in the future. He emphasized that while the tariffs understandably dominated the headlines, that the struggle was really about the economy of the future and whether or not American and Chinese firms would compete on an open and fair basis or would try to skew the competition through protectionist policies.
May 17, 2019: TVC (Nigeria)
Brian Peck, director of the USC Transnational Law and Business Center, was interviewed about the U.S.-China trade war. Peck noted that U.S. consumers and farmers had suffered as a result of the imposition of tariffs and that the International Monetary Fund had found that global growth had slowed since the trade war began.
May 13, 2019: KTLA
The USC U.S.-China Institute’s Clayton Dube was interviewed about the importance of U.S.-China trade to Southern California and potential consequences of the ongoing trade war. He noted that California exported over $25 billion in goods to China and Hong Kong in 2018, making China our second largest export market after Mexico. Tesla, alone, accounted for nearly $3 billion of those exports. Other products that could be affected are aircraft parts, industrial machinery, computer chips and agricultural goods. On the American side, if the tariffs go into effect, consumers could see higher prices on a wide array of goods from furniture and flooring to vitamins and virtual reality headsets. Automobiles, dependent on parts from China, could go up $1,000-$3,000. Dube stressed that all this may be avoided if the two sides can reach agreement in the next few weeks.
May 13, 2019: KNX (CBS Los Angeles)
Clayton Dube of the USC U.S.-China Institute was interviewed about escalating trade tensions and dueling tariffs between the U.S. and China. Dube noted that while President Trump is focused on the trade balance, the real issues at stake are market access and the protection of intellectual property. While tariffs impose costs on consumers and may cost exporters sales, they are the means by which the Trump administration is seeking to get the Chinese government to open its markets and to better protect intellectual property.
May 9, 2019: KJZZ (NPR Phoenix)
The USC U.S.-China Institute's Clayton Dube was interviewed about China's military build-up and whether or not it posed a threat to the United States. Dube noted that China's defense needs and its desire to be militarily dominant in its region drive most of the build-up. The U.S., on the other hand, worries that Chinese efforts in those directions put its own allies and friends at risk, thereby jeopardizing peace and stability in the region. Dube said that while war between the U.S. and China is quite unlikely, the increased military jockeying increases anxiety and the chance of unintended conflict.
May 7, 2019: The New Yorker
Stanley Rosen, USC political scientist, was quoted in a story regarding a decision by CBS to censor a song critical of China in one of its dramas, The Good Fight. Rosen thought that there was actually little risk for CBS, but noted that some companies have been punished, “Your whole brand, your whole company, is subject to the most offensive thing in your repertoire. People have learned from past mistakes—I don’t want to say past mistakes, but past decisions.”
May 6, 2019: Xinhua
Chongwu Zhou, a USC Viterbi School of Engineering professor, commented that the Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-Financed Students Abroad was a sign of both the quality of U.S. universities and the strength of China. 15 students were recognized at an event organized by the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles.
May 2, 2019: The Holmes Report
After leading MSL’s expansion in China and across Asia, Glenn Osaki has agreed to become USC’s chief communications officer. Osaki is a USC alum and was the president of MSL Asia and based in Shanghai.
Featured Articles
January 4, 2024
We note the passing of many prominent individuals who played some role in U.S.-China affairs, whether in politics, economics or in helping people in one place understand the other.
Events
Thursday, March 21, 2024 - 4:00pm PST
Ying Zhu looks at new developments for Chinese and global streaming services.
Tuesday, March 19, 2024 - 4:00pm
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?