China’s Challenges: Domestic Dilemmas vs. Global Ambitions

September 22, 2005
David Bachman | University of Washington

Is China expanding its global reach faster than its people can absorb change at home?
Where are the fissures on the home front that could spark sudden changes to China’s global ambitions?
What are the most promising AND the most worrisome issues facing the US-Chinese relationship?

There’s a disconnect between what America reads and hears about China from our press coverage, and what the Chinese are reading and hearing about America in their press coverage. So what’s the “real” story about the US-Chinese relationship? David Bachman, professor of Chinese politics and foreign policy at the UW Jackson School of International Studies, talks about China’s global reach and domestic fault lines. The future for US-Chinese relations is neither grim nor rosy, but rather is a complex balancing of national interests, regional agendas, and global ambitions on both sides. Come hear from one of the nation’s foremost experts about what lies ahead for the two largest powers in the Pacific.

Speaker Details

David Bachman is a professor of Chinese politics and foreign policy in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies. He took his first trip to China in 1978. He is also Associate Director of the Jackson School at the University of Washington where he teaches courses on Chinese domestic and foreign policy, Asian politics, society, and international relations, among other subjects. Bachman currently serves as president of the Washington State China Relations Council and is a member of the National Committee on US-China Relations and the Pacific Council on International Policy. In his free time, he plays competitive soccer with other men of a certain age.