Is China waiting in the wings, ready to come forward as the new dominant global power?
As part of the Baker Center’s Ambassadors series, former ambassador to China, Clark T. “Sandy” Randt will address this question in the Toyota Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
Randt will deliver an address titled “Tectonic Shift: China’s Rise and the Changing World Order.”
“Ambassador Randt, our latest featured speaker in this series, was a colleague of Ambassador Baker during his years as ambassador, so we thought that it would be an especially great program to have Ambassador Randt speak,” Amy Gibson, Baker Center senior research associate, said. “We are honored that he accepted our invitation.”
As the dynamics of the relationship between the United States and China change, increasing Chinese power may pose an interesting scenario for future interactions between these nations.
Randt was the Chinese ambassador from July 2001 until the inauguration of President Barack Obama in January 2009, making him the longest-serving ambassador to that nation.
Early in his career, Randt served in the U.S. Air Force Security Service. Randt is an alumnus of Harvard Law School and studied Chinese law at the University of East Asia in Macau as well. He is fluent in Chinese Mandarin and is recognized as highly knowledgeable in the area of Chinese law.
“Since Ambassador Randt retired in January 2009, he will be able to give us a current perspective on life in China and how he perceives U.S.-China relations,” Nissa Dahlin-Brown, Baker Center assistant director, said.
Currently China holds around $1 trillion of U.S. debt. With the recent depreciation of value in the dollar, the Chinese do have some fears regarding the consequences of holding assets in U.S. currency.
Chinese-U.S. relations are certainly surrounded by heated debate, and many analysts are torn regarding the eventual consequences of the advancing Chinese economy.
“The talk will examine the 30th anniversary of China’s policy of opening up to the outside world as well as changing United States-China relations,” Gibson said.
The changing relationship between the United States and China is a current topic of great interest in political and financial circles across the nation. If China does begin to play a greater role in the division of world power, this may raise concern in the U.S.
Consequently, the surrounding controversy adds to the prevalence of the topic of Chinese relations at this time, making the ambassador’s visit timely and relevant.
Whatever one’s perspective on the developing relationship between these two nations, Ambassador Randt’s special knowledge should address the issue of the U.S. losing traction as the dominant world economic power.
