With U.S.-China relations constantly in the news, the 2017 China Town Hall presentation, “A National Conversation about U.S.-China Policy,” will provide an opportunity to gain more understanding beyond the Twitter posts, sound bites and headlines.

The World Affairs Council Inland Southern California, The Modern China Lecture Series and the History Club/Phi Alpha Theta at Cal State San Bernardino are inviting the public to attend the 11th annual China Town Hall event, sponsored by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (NCUSCR), on Tuesday, Oct. 24 at the university.

The town hall will begin at 3:45 p.m. in the university’s John M. Pfau Library, room PL-5005 on the fifth floor. The program is free with pre-registration at the World Affairs Council Inland Southern California website.

“We are fortunate to be able to host this important annual national conversation for the fourth year running, thanks to the relationship cultivated between CSUSB and the local chapter of the World Affairs Council led by Peg Hill, as well as the NCUSCR central office in New York,” said Jeremy Murray, associate professor of CSUSB’s history department.

CSUSB is one of more than 80 venues nationwide that will carry the China Town Hall via livestream webcast.

This year’s program will feature Susan E. Rice, former national security adviser in President Barack Obama’s administration and former United States ambassador to the United Nations, and Richard Madsen, a professor of sociology from UC San Diego and highly regarded expert on Chinese and American culture and international relations.

Rice, who will be the national webcast speaker, served as national security adviser (2013-2017) and U.S. permanent representative to the UN (2009-2013). She also served as U.S. assistant secretary of state for African Affairs and senior director for African Affairs at the National Security Council. Her decades of public service and critical role in developing and executing the Obama administration's policies toward China make her perspective on the relationship especially relevant as we navigate this uncertain time in the bilateral relationship. 

Madsen, who will be the local speaker, will participate in a discussion about “China and the American Dream.” Madsen is a distinguished professor of sociology and an affiliated faculty member at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UCSD. He is the author of 12 books on Chinese culture, United States society, U.S.-China relations and international relations, including the landmark village studies “Chen Village under Mao and Deng” and its sequel “Chen Village: Revolution to Globalization.”

The National Committee on U.S.-China Relations is the leading national, non-partisan public affairs organization devoted exclusively to building constructive and durable relationships between the United States and China.

For more information on the program, contact Margaret “Peg” Hill, program chair for the World Affairs Council of Inland Southern California, at (909) 537-5648.