Norman Moline

Understanding China: Complicated but Essential

China is, without question, the other major global power, and its economic and international power is likely to increase as the 21st century advances. China significantly impacts all Americans, including the people of Illinois. Some of those impacts are well-known and covered both in news stories and in people’s day-to-day lives. China produces products we need; it causes some of our manufacturing industries to close; its demands for food create markets for Illinois and Iowa soybeans and corn; it seeks to stretch its global interests, causing national security concerns for the U.S.; it and the U.S. are the two major contributors to global warming, but at the same time diligently seek innovative ways to obtain energy to reduce such warming; its policies against minorities, freedom of speech and religion, and open access to information on the internet counter American human rights values; its verbal threats about Taiwan exacerbate global tensions; it was the origin point for COVID-19 and works diligently to understand the disease; it is a cooperator with the U.S. on some key global issues and in research scholarship, but this is often not well known. The list goes on.

One thing is certain: China will be an important factor in the lives of people and businesses in Illinois and in world affairs for decades to come.

Jeffrey Wasserstrom, a scholar on Asia, wrote in China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know, “One thing that in a small way might help to combat both U.S. misunderstanding of the [People’s Republic of China] and Chinese misunderstanding of the United States would be a broader appreciation in both countries that they have much in common ….Another thing that would help ease U.S.-China misunderstandings would be simply for people in each country to know more about the people living in the other.”

This presentation, in a modest way, would contribute to such understanding among the general public on some key global issues. In Dr. Moline’s judgment, our country needs more citizens with well-informed perspectives on China—its history, its current characteristics, and its goals.

Program Logistics

The presentation takes 60 minutes, with time for a Q&A. Projector and screen are required.