First Chinese Think Tank Visits Washington DC since Pandemic
July 11 , 2022Following a successful trip to New York city where CCG experts exchanged views with leading voices on the global and regional affairs from Asia Society, Council of Foreign Relations, the United Nations headquarters, as well as prominent members of the New York circles, the group made up by CCG president Dr. Henry Huiyao Wang, CCG secretary general Dr. Mabel Lu Miao, and CCG vice persident and senior fellow Mr. Mike H. Liu headed to Washington DC to continue its first overseas think tank track-II engagement mission in nearly three years. Their five days’ visit to Washington from July 4 to July 8 was filled with productive meetings.
Visiting influential US think tanks:
In Washington DC, CCG met with Dr. John Hamre, President and CEO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), discussing. Their discussions revolved around China-US relations, global development, Russia Ukrine crisis and the role of think tanks in public diplomacy. Last year, CCG collaborated with CSIS and Singpapore’s NTU on a virtual track-II seminar featuring US-China relations. Dr. John Hamre also joined CCG global dialogue series hosted by Dr. Henry Huiyao Wang.
At CSIS, CCG also met with Scott Kennedy, Senior Adviser and Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). They exchanged opinions concerning China-US economic and trade relations and the Biden administration’s China policy.
CCG met with President Adam Posen and visiting fellow and former WTO Deputy Director-General Alan Wolff, at the headquarters of the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE). The main topics discussed were China-US economic and trade, tariff policies and inflation.
CCG’s experts visited Frederick Kempe, the president of Atlantic Council at Atlantic Council’s headquaters, where they discussed topics on relations between China, the US and Europe with President Frederick Kempe, Senior Director of the China Global Hub David Shullman and Peter Engelke, Deputy Director of Foresight at the Scowcroft Strategy Initiative.
The delegation visited the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) and exchange opinions on China-US relations, the multilateral trade system and with Daniel Russel, who is the vice president for International Security and Diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) and prior Special Assistant to the President and National Security Council (NSC) Senior Director for Asian Affairs at the White House.
In a meeting with ASPI’s Vice President Wendy Cutler, the delegation had a dialogue that covered China-US trade, US tariff policies and trade system reform in Asia-Pacific.
CCG also paid a visit to the Stimson Center where CCG’s experts discussed global security, regional conflicts and international cooperation with its President and CEO, Brian Finlay.
Other US think tank exchanges also included CCG’s experts visit to Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where they discussed topics around China-US relations, Asian regional cooperation and development with senior fellow Yukon Huang.
In DC CCG delegation visited the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), where they met with Associate Director Nigel Cory and discussed global digital governance and policies on digital economy.
Communicate with China-US bussiness community:
CCG visited Craig Allen, President of the US-China Business Council (USCBC). USCBC, an advocacy group whose member companies include America’s largest multinationals, has been a leading business voice pushing for a reduction of Trump-era tariffs impsed on Chinese goods. Their discussions dealt with China-US relations, bilateral economic and trade cooperation, and trends in US tariffs on China.
CCG’s delegation visited the US Chamber of Commerce headquarters, where they talked with its China President Jeremie Waterman about China-US trade, cross-border investment and business cooperation.
Engaging with media personalities and outlets :
CCG delegation met with Thomas Friedman and discussed megatrends and the transformation of globalization in the post-pandemic era. Friedman is a New York Times op-ed columnist and a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner. As one of the most influential journalists and authors, he has written extensively, and The World Is Flat is his well-known magnum opus. Later, CCG delegation also visited CGTN America and met with its President, Jiang Heping. Jiang showcased the positive contributions CGTN America made to China-US communications during the pandemic. Their discussions also touched upon the international climate and political efforts during these challenging times.
After the visit of Thomas Friedman, CCG’s experts accepted the invitation from Thomas Friedman to visit a voice-activated and interactive museum named Planet Word. The museum is launched by Ann Friedman.
Dr. Wang also attended the Breakfast Forum co-held by the SEMAFOR and Knight Foundation, where influential media professionals in the US discussed the essence of news and media operations.
Participating in scholarly exchange:
At the invitation of Prof. Anna Vassilieva, Founding Director of the Monterey Initiative in Russian Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, Dr. Wang attended the 2022 Monterey Summer Symposium on Russia (MSSR) remotely. He delivered a speech as part of a webinar titled ‘Looking from the East: A Chinese Perspective on Russia’, moderated by Alexander Gabuev, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Paying a visit to the Chinese embassy in the US
CCG’s experts met with Ambassador Qin Gang and other senior diplomats at the Chinese Embassy in the US. The Ambassador Qin, who noted the importance and timeliness of this trip and encouraged more people to people exchanges. Dr. Henry Wang introduced to Ambassador Qin on CCG’s exchanges between think tanks. The delegation also met with other senior members of the embassy including Ministers Jing Quan and Zhu Hong, and Minister-Counsellors Liu Pengyu, Yin Chengwu and Zhu Haiquan.
Meeting with US state department officials
CCG also paid a visit the US Department of State, in which the delegation met with Henry Hand, Assistant Deputy Secretary General and Director of the Office of China’s Issues, Benjamin Sand, Chief of Strategic Communications for Chinese and Mongolian Affairs and David MacDonald, Trade Policy Advisor for Chinese and Mongolian Affairs. This visit provided a critical window for the delegation to help US officials better understand China’s concerns and policy development, bringing constructive recommendations to the enduring stalemate of bilateral relations.
Visiting headquaters of international organizations:
CCG’s experts visited the headquarters of the World Bank and met with Ayhan Kose, Chief Economist and Director of the Prospects Group in the Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions (EFI) Practice Group. They discussed the future of the global economy, the policies for economic growth and sustainable development.
As China’s leading non-governmental think tank, CCG undertook this ice-breaking trip since pandemic happened in almost three years with the aim of creating a better understanding for improving bilateral relations. This series of high-level dialogues and discussions in Washington DC came at a crucial point where world politics is facing escalating risks, and China-US bilateral exchanges have been sharply curtailed by Covid-19. CCG’s active engagement with international think tanks and other stakeholders is a proactive step taken by the civil society group toward repairing the frayed and calloused ties, and organizations in the US have warmly welcomed this first track-II think tank delegation from China since the start of the pandemic. Many of the individuals the delegation met with also expressed the desire to visit China in person as soon as possible.
[CCG Global Engagement Tour]
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