China Then and Now: From a Century of Humiliation to a $4 Trillion Trade Surplus

“You're looking at a country which is the most radical actor on the global stage since the French Revolution.”

China is plowing forward with an agenda of economic aggression, empirical ambitions, and a complete disregard for international law and customs.  How did this happen?  It turns out to be a toxic combination of long national embarrassment, Confucian thought, and terrible missteps by the U.S. and others.

To give us a much-needed Chinese history lesson, I brought in former Commerce Department official Pat Mulloy, who also served as a commissioner on the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, and Stefan Halper, a professor at Cambridge University who worked in the Nixon and Ford administrations.  

Before we can chart an effective path forward, we have to understand where China has been, what it wants, and how it plans to get there.  Listen here for a great discussion on this vitally important topic.