As a career U.S. foreign service officer and the acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs at the U.S. State Department, Susan Thorntonย has had a hand in the China policy of three successive American administrations. She was stationed in China for the years 2000-2007, and since then has held leadership positions in Washington connected to U.S.-China relations. Before 2000, she specialized in and was stationed in post-Soviet states, including Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.
She is an excellent interpreter of how U.S.-China relations have developed in the 21st century, and a key player in current U.S.-China policy.
In this podcast: What really happened at Mar-a-Lago? Was the Trump team prepared? Was the timing of the Syria strike intentional? How does the U.S. administration plan to press China on North Korea, and will it continue to criticize China on human rights?
This podcast was recorded live on April 12 at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., with the help of that universityโs chapter of Global China Connection.
Recommendations:
Jeremy:ย โLogical Thinkingโ (้ป่พๆ็ปด luรณji sฤซwรฉi), a popular channel on WeChat that broadcasts a one-minute recording on an issue of society in mainland China every day. Search for โ้ป่พๆ็ปดโ on WeChat.
Susan:ย The Immobile Empire,ย by Alain Peyrefitte, a book on Lord George Macartneyโs famous trip to visit the Qianlong Emperor in 1793 and cross-cultural perceptions between the British and Chinese empires.
Kaiser:ย Chinese History: A New Manual, by Endymion Wilkinson. The invaluable tome covering China from many different angles is often described as โmagisterial.โ
