Sinica backgrounder: 40 years of change in China, from the end of the Cultural Revolution to today
A reading list to accompany the Sinica Podcast interview with John Holden, a longtime China expert and firsthand witness of the nation's transformations over the past several decades.
John Holden has a long and storied personal history in China, spanning the entire duration of the period of reform and opening. One of his earliest jobs was interpreting for National Geographic on a 1981 expedition along the Yellow River to its headwaters in Tibet. He has steered the China operations of Cargill, a massive multinational company that was one of the earliest foreign investors in food and commodities processing in China, and led the Beijing office of communications firm Hill+Knowlton. In addition, he has been a fixture of the leadership of the American Chamber of Commerce in Beijing and has served as president of the National Committee on United States–China Relations. He is currently associate dean of the prestigious Yenching Academy at Peking University.
The November 10 Sinica Podcast features a conversation with John covering the gamut of his rich curriculum vitae and his views on politics, foreign business, education and the sweeping changes that China has seen since the end of the Cultural Revolution.
Below is a list of links that inform the context of this podcast.
- The book Journey into China / National Geographic
- The Cargill company home page / Cargill.com
- John Holden and Patrick Tyler on Charlie Rose / charlierose.com
- China’s “Iron Lady” negotiator, Wu Yi / China.org.cn
- Another Wu Yi profile / China Vitae
- Wu Yi: #2 on 2005 Forbes list of world’s most powerful women / Forbes
- Profile of Zhu Rongji, the manager of China’s economy during the critical period around the turn of the century / Asia Society
- “China Leaders Consult Old Master Zhu Rongji Over Reform” / Bloomberg
- Report from 2000: “Permanent Normal Trade Relations for China” / Brookings
- Remarks by the head of the National Economic Council in 2000: “Permanent Normal Trade Relations and the Potential for a More Open China” / Bill Clinton White House archives
- “US House Approves China PNTR; China-US Sign Environmental Cooperation Pact” / International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development
- “AmCham China Legacy: A Better Business Environment” / American Chamber of Commerce
- The Yenching Academy at Peking University in Beijing / Yenchingacademy.org
- A Q&A with John Holden: “Educating China’s Future Leaders: Local Impact of Global Knowledge” / The Diplomat
