China’s Power: Up for Debate 2020: Debate 5

This special episode of the ChinaPower podcast is the last of five featuring the audio from the China Power Project's fifth annual conference, which comprises five live online debates. 

Prior to the debate, Representative Rick Larsen delivered keynote remarks on the challenges and opportunities posed by China’s growing power and the view from Congress, followed by a Q&A conversation hosted by Bonnie Glaser, CSIS senior adviser for Asia and director of the China Power Project.

Representative Rick Larsen represents the Second Congressional District of Washington State. Representative Larsen is a co-chair of the bipartisan US-China Working Group, which educates Members of Congress about bilateral issues through meetings and briefings with academic, business, and political leaders from the US and China. Representative Larsen has visited China eleven times.

Following the keynote remarks, the China Power Project hosted a debate on the proposition: "Selective US-China economic decoupling will set back China’s emergence as a global high-tech leader." 

The Trump administration has imposed restrictions on exports to leading Chinese telecom and semiconductor companies. In addition, the US has taken measures to encourage American companies to diversify their production and supply chains in order to reduce reliance on China. Given the interconnectedness of the global economy, these efforts could pose a challenge to the competitiveness of Chinese tech firms and manufacturers.

Matthew Turpin, Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, argued that US-China decoupling will set back China’s emergence as a global high-tech leader. Rebecca Fannin, Founder of Silicon Dragon Ventures, argued that US-China economic decoupling will not set back China’s emergence as a global high-tech leader.

This event is made possible by the generous support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.