A new untested U.S. Administration. A newly resurgent Chinese superpower. And no shortage of pressing issues including trade, North Korea, the South China Sea, and climate change (where China is taking the lead in renewable energy).
Closer to home: Did you know that a Chinese investor is building helicopters in Menominee for export to China? Or that Chinese consumers go bonkers over red wine? Or that Northwestern Michigan College has developed a dynamic educational partnership with China? This is all backdrop for a special summer Global Hot Spot presentation that Traverse City’s International Affairs Forum is bringing to NMC’s Hagerty Center on Wednesday, June 28.
The June 28 presentation starts at 6 p.m. at NMC’s Hagerty Center. An hors d’oeuvre reception starts at 5 p.m. with a cash bar.
$15 for IAF Members | $20 for Non-IAF Members | Free for Students and Educators
Please purchase your tickets ahead of time at MyNorthTickets.com. Call 231.995.1706 with questions or to get student/educator tickets!
“Where Great Powers Meet: America and China in Asia”
The featured speaker is Dr. David Shambaugh, one of America’s leading experts on China and Director of the China Policy Program at George Washington University. Dr. Shambaugh has spent the last 6 months on a listening tour in Asia hearing how leaders in key capitals view the evolving U.S./China power balance. With Panama’s surprise decision last week to break ties with Taiwan and establish relations with China, understanding this regional perspective is more critical than ever.
Dr. David Shambaugh
Dr. Shambaugh will be joined on stage by NMC President Timothy J. Nelson who will update the audience about the development of ties between Northern Michigan and China in education, culture, tourism and business. NMC instructors are in China now teaching water studies courses in Chinese classrooms, the culmination of a partnership five years in the making.
The International Affairs Forum is affiliated with the World Affairs Councils of America and Northwestern Michigan College. Now in its 24th year, it is non-partisan and volunteer-led, with the mission to advance understanding of the world’s critical issues through education and public dialogue.
Three years ago, IAF organized the region’s first-ever conference on China, bringing together more than 40 experts on foreign policy, business, education, art and culture to debate what China’s emergence would mean for Northern Michigan.
Go to tciaf.com for more information.