U.S.-China Relations under Barack Obama and Xi Jinping

The reelection of President Barack Obama and the convening of China’s 18th National Congress marks a new era for U.S.-China relations.

On November 29, the Brookings-Tsinghua Center for Public Policy hosted Jeffrey Bader for a public forum to discuss these and related issues facing the Obama and Xi administrations. Bader is the John C. Whitehead senior fellow in international diplomacy at the Brookings Institution. He served as senior director for East Asian affairs on the National Security Council during President Obama’s first term, and is the author of Obama and China’s Rise: An Insider’s Account of America’s Asian Strategy.

In Bader’s view, U.S.-China relations are in pretty good shape right now. Interdependence is the most important characteristic of this relationship, and a crucial aspect is that the two countries continue to maintain strategic cooperation in many fields. America’s foreign policies and strategies toward China will not change significantly under President Obama’s second term, and the key issue will be how to react properly to China’s continued rise and its increasingly important role in global society.

Meng Bo, associate director of the Brookings-Tsinghua Center, gave the opening remarks for this event. Professor Zhang Ruizhuang from Nankai University made comments and shared his insights on U.S.-China relations from the perspective of realism theory.

After the program, Bader took audience questions. The event was held in both English and Chinese with interpreters.

Read the event transcript » (Chinese PDF)

Dr. Jeffrey Bader