Brian recently visited China on a trip for journalists sponsored by the Committee Of 100. He and his fellow travelers will be posting reflections on the blog over the next week. Here Mercy Kuo, Managing Director at Managing Director at C-100, responds to Brian's first post.

Mercy Responds 

Brian, this question really gets to the essence of US-China relations – as China’s influence grows, will it be a “rule-maker” or “rule-breaker,” and in either scenario, what are implications for the United States, other regional players, and international relations? As a back-of-the-envelope informal exercise in scenario analysis, I’d offer two rudimentary contrasting sketches depicting how this relationship might evolve over, let’s say, the next decade or two. 

Brian recently visited China on a trip for journalists sponsored by the Committee Of 100. He and his fellow travelers will be posting reflections on the blog over the next week. Here Angie Tang, executive director of the C-100, former director of the New York City Office of Immigrant Affairs, and former U.S. Labor Department Representative for the Northeast and Caribbean, responds to Brian's first post.

Angie Responds 

Brian, your point about “China’s mix of repression, pragmatism and advancement” aptly captures the contradictory forces at play in shaping China’s economic development and in some ways, I would add national identity.

Brian recently visited China on a trip for journalists sponsored by the Committee Of 100. He and his fellow travelers will be posting reflections on the blog over the next week. Here Clive Crook of the Atlantic responds to Brian's first post.

Thanks, Brian. You raise some very interesting questions.

I think I see the basic duality you mention a bit differently. To me, it’s not about the advantages of technocratic-meritocratic leadership (which you can have with or without democracy). It’s about two kinds of freedom--political and economic.

Brian recently visited China on a trip for journalists sponsored by the Committee Of 100. He and his fellow travelers will be posting reflections on the blog over the next week.

Five American journalists went on a one week trip to China sponsored by the Committee of 100, a group of prominent Chinese-Americans founded by I.M. Pei, Yo-Yo Ma and others with a foot in both worlds who are dedicated to having our two countries understand each other better. They conduct and sponsor tours like this for journalists each year. I want to start by thanking the C-100 for leading an ambitious and supremely organized trip, introducing us to so many many top people in different walks of life, and exposing us to so many different points of view about China (and us!) It was a very rich experience and I'm sure it will add great value to all our readers/viewers/listeners through the more sophisticated understanding we will now have of China (and us.)

Jonathan Tepperman, managing editor of Foreign Affairs, discusses U.S foreign policy vis-a-vis China and the potential for the U.S. to get involved militarily in support of Japan in the two countries' conflict over territorial waters.

Elizabeth Economy, senior fellow and director for Asia Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, talks to Brian about his reflections on China and her piece "The Game Changer" about China's diplomacy.

Ruchir Sharma, head of emerging markets at Morgan Stanley, author of Breakout Nations: In Pursuit of the Next Economic Miracles, and just named one of Foreign Policy's Top 100 Global Thinkers, looks beyond the BRICs at the global economic picture.

Brian recently visited China on a trip for journalists sponsored by the Committee Of 100. He and his fellow travelers will be posting reflections on the blog over the next week.

James Fallows, national correspondent for The Atlantic, and author of China Airborne, talks about the idea that some Chinese businesspeople and intellectuals, including some with strong U.S. ties, support the authoritarian state.