The Week That Changed The World

President Nixon's Historic Trip to China and the Future of U.S.-China Relations

The United States Institute of Peace and the Richard Nixon Foundation, in cooperation with the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, hosted a day-long symposium marking the 40th Anniversary of President Nixon’s extraordinary meetings with leaders of the People’s Republic of China. President Nixon’s trip was a watershed moment for the Sino-American relationship and its effects are still being felt today. The conference focused primarily on examining the origins of the trip, the current status of Sino-American relations and the outlook for the future of this critical bilateral relationship.

The morning program for the conference featured a keynote from His Excellency Yang Jiechi, Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China, and a conversation with former National Security Adviser Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski. The lunch address featured a discussion with Dr. Henry Kissinger, moderated by Mr. Tom Brokaw. The panels included a wide-array of distinguished business leaders, diplomats, analysts, and journalists, including General Brent Scowcroft, Ted Koppel, Fred Bergsten, Mike Chinoy and Mike Lampton. The day's events concluded with remarks from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

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Agenda

8:30 - 9:00	Registration and coffee
9:00 - 9:20	Welcome remarks Ambassador Richard H. Solomon, President, United States Institute of Peace Ambassador Zhang Yesui, Embassy of the People's Republic of China Mr. Ronald H. Walker, Chairman of the Board, Richard Nixon Foundation Historical Video
9:20 - 9:45	Opening video keynote by His Excellency Yang Jiechi, Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China Introduction by Ambassador Stapleton Roy, Director, Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars
9:45 - 11:00	Opening Panel: “Changing the Cold War World" Introduction by Ambassador Richard H. Solomon Moderated by David Ignatius, The Washington Post Dr. Robert Kagan, Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy, Brookings Institution Ambassador Stapleton Roy, Director, Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars General Brent Scowcroft, President, The Scowcroft Group
11:00 - 11:20	Break
11:20 - 12:00	A Conversation with Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski Introduction by Ambassador Stapleton Roy Moderated by Margaret Warner, PBS NewsHour
12:00 - 12:30	Lunch
12:30 - 1:15	A Discussion with Dr. Henry A. Kissinger Introduction by Ronald H. Walker Moderated by Tom Brokaw, NBC News
1:30 – 2:45	Concurrent Panels
	I: Coping with an Economic Juggernaut Introduction by Dwight Chapin, Chapin Enterprises Moderated by Dr. Fred Bergsten, Director, Peterson Institute for International Economics Hon. Babara Franklin, President and CEO, Barbara Franklin Enterprises Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, Chairman and CEO, C.V. Starr Co., Inc. Dr. Robert Hormats, Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Dr. Nicholas Lardy, Anthony M. Solomon Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics
	II: China’s Domestic Evolution: From Mao Zedong to Deng Xiaoping to the 21st Century Introduction by David Sanger, New York Times Moderated by Dr. David M. Lampton, Dean of Faculty, Professor of China Studies; Director of the China Studies Program, Johns Hopkins University Dr. Kenneth Lieberthal, Director, John L. Thornton China Center, Brookings Institution Dr. Susan Shirk, Director, University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation Dr. Ezra Vogel, Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences Emeritus, Harvard University
	III: Changing Public Perceptions of China from Nixon to Obama Introduction by Ambassador Richard H. Solomon Moderated by Mike Chinoy, Senior Fellow, USC U.S.-China Institute Marcus Brauchli, Executive Editor, The Washington Post Jim Laurie, President, Focus Asia Productions HK Ltd. Melinda Liu, Beijing Bureau Chief, Newsweek James Mann, Foreign Policy Institute Author-in-Residence, Johns Hopkins SAIS Jerrold Schecter, Chairman, Schecter Communications
2:45 - 3:00	Break
3: 00 - 4:15	Closing Panel: “The Future of U.S. – China Relations” Introduction by Tara Sonenshine, Executive Vice President, United States Institute of Peace Moderated by Ted Koppel, NBC News Dr. Jeffrey Bader, John C. Whitehead Senior Fellow in International Diplomacy, Brookings Institution Admiral Dennis Blair, USN (ret.), Former Director of National Intelligence Hon. Carla Hills, Chairman and CEO, Hills and Company Dr. Cheng Li, Director of Research, John L. Thornton China Center, Brookings Institution
4:15 - 4:45	Remarks by Secretary of State Hillary R. Clinton Introduction by Tara Sonenshine and Patricia Nixon Cox
4:45 - 5:30	Evening Reception

Partners

Start Date:

March 7, 2012 - 8:30am

End Date:

March 7, 2012 - 6:30pm

Location

United States Institute of Peace
2301 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20037

Inquiries

Richard Nixon Foundation: Erzsebet Hunyadi, 714.364.1162 / erzsebet@nixonfoundation.org

United States Institute of Peace: Sarah Bessell, 202.429.4716 / sbessell@usip.org

Media (Nixon Foundation)

Richard Nixon Foundation: Jonathan Movroydis, 714-364-1126 / jmovroydis@gmail.com

Media

Journalists should contact Steven Ruder or Allison Sturma in the Office of Public Affairs and Communications.

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Type

Public Event