Barack Obama and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met in California recently for a two-day summit -- their first since Xi took office as president. Shorenstein APARC experts weigh in on key issues surrounding the visit.

China’s impressive economic growth over the last three decades and increasing political influence and military capabilities have caused people around the world to wonder or worry about how China will use its new-found power. More specifically, they wonder whether, and how, China might attempt to transform the international system that has enabled it to become the world’s second largest economy and potential contender for global leadership.

Thomas Fingar, the Oksenberg-Rohlen Distinguished Fellow at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, addressed these and related questions during the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center’s annual Oksenberg Lecture on May 22. 

After describing how China has benefitted from participation in the liberal order led and maintained by the United States, Fingar argued that China has neither the will nor the ability to lead or transform the existing system, and that its continued “rise” will increase its stake in the system and make it even less willing to seek changes that could jeopardize its own success. He also suggested that other nations benefitting from the existing order would constrain China from attempting radical change even if it wanted to.

Following Fingar’s remarks, Jia Qingguo, associate dean of the School of International Studies at Peking University, said it is important to recognize that China is in the midst of a major transition. It is both a developed and a developing country, he said.

Thomas Christensen, director of Princeton University’s China and the World Program, added that due to China’s weight in the world, it will be called on more and more to collaborate on critical global issues, such as climate change and disease.

Fingar’s keynote remarks drew on “China's Vision of World Order,” a chapter published in Strategic Asia 2012–13: China's Military Challenge (National Bureau for Asian Research), as well as Shorenstein APARC’s research initiative on China’s interactions with its neighbors.

Since 2002, Shorenstein APARC has held the Oksenberg Lecture Series as a tribute to the legacy of Michel Oksenberg, a pioneer in the field of Chinese politics and an important force in shaping American attitudes toward China.

An audio podcast of the May 22 event is available on the Shorenstein APARC website.

Thirty years ago, I crossed the Pacific for the first time, traveling from Seoul to attend graduate school in Seattle. Meanwhile, down the coast at Stanford, a visionary group of faculty was laying the bedrock of a unique organization committed to promoting strong U.S.-Asia relations through research on timely, policy-relevant issues.

Early research initiatives looked at themes like Northeast Asia regional security and the development of the high-tech industry in Asia and the United States. From the very beginning of Asia’s transformation and through the twilight of the Cold War era, such projects brought together leading scholars from Asia and Stanford, and high-level U.S. and Asian policymakers, for fruitful collaboration and dialogue.

Twenty years later, in September 2005, I became director of the newly endowed Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC), a thriving organization poised for even greater growth. I gratefully acknowledge the support of Mr. Shorenstein and our many generous donors, as well as the three decades of work by dedicated faculty, researchers, staff, and, not least of all, the five visionary directors who served before me.

Asia has grown over the past three decades into a key global region, and at no other time in history have there been such significant ties between the United States and Asia. Although we have expanded the scope of our regional expertise and research, we stay true to our Center’s original mission.

Today, Shorenstein APARC boasts five flourishing research programs: the Asia Health Policy Program, Japan Studies Program, Korean Studies Program, Southeast Asia Forum, and Stanford China Program. We have brought hundreds of visiting scholars, practitioners, and fellows to the Center over the years, and have established a strong and ever-growing alumni network in Asia through our Corporate Affiliates Program. I remain grateful and honored to serve this wonderful research institution.

As we celebrate our thirtieth anniversary this May, we honor a vision turned into successful reality, and head toward a bright future of possibilities for continuing our work to foster lasting, cooperative relations with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region.

Gi-Wook Shin
Director, Shorenstein APARC