The rise of China has become one of the most significant geopolitical development and issue of our time. To some, the Middle kingdom symbolises opportunity and growth; to others, it represents oppression and the return of an anti-liberal, anti-democratic world order.

With the Beijing Winter Olympics fast approaching, the world’s spotlight is once again on China, its political system, its economic performance, its pandemic response, and perhaps the most controversial of all, its human rights record. This raises several questions:

What is the China under President Xi?

Is its ascent inevitable?

Is its rise a net postive to the world?

And what will the West do about it?

In the first of our series of talks on ‘the Rise of China’, our speakers will try to answer these questions. We will explore the historical, political and social factors that have led the country to where it is today, and discuss the implications of Xi’s domestic and international policies to the people of China and to the world.

We are excited to welcome:

*Mr. Ryan Hass – senior fellow and the Michael H. Armacost Chair in the Foreign Policy programme at the Brookings Institute

*Ambassador Kurt Tong – Former Consul General of the United State to Hong Kong and Macau, and Partner at the Asia Group LLC

*Prof. Rana Mitter – Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China and former Director of the University of Oxford China Centre