China's Global Rise

China: A Series on the World's Next Great Power

As China entered the twenty-first century, it had undergone one of the most remarkable and rapid successions of economic, social, and cultural changes in world history. Its rise as a global manufacturing powerhouse and a regional power with an increasingly influential voice in the world has led some observers to pronounce the twenty-first century to be "China's Century."

But many experts warn that problems of mass unemployment, corruption, an absence of political reform, environmental degradation and an unchecked HIV/AIDS crisis could seriously threaten China's future prospects. There has never been a more crucial time for Americans to be informed about China and how its transformation will affect the world.

The Five Part Series on China’s Global Rise provides an opportunity to discuss and educate students and community members about China’s transformations and current challenges.

Part One: US China Relations at the Dawn of the 21st Century
Ambassador-in-Residence James Lilley
April 12-14, 2004

Part Two: Prospects and Challenges in China's Economic Transition
October 25-26, 2004

Part Three: Human Rights in China 
April 10-11, 2006

Part Four: International Relations in an Era of Change
April 7-8, 2009

Part Five: Responses to the Global Financial Crisis
Spring 2012

Be sure to check our calendar for upcoming events.