The eleventh annual CHINA Town Hall will take place Oct. 24 and will feature Ambassador Susan E. Rice, former national security advisor and U.S. ambassador to the UN, as the webcast speaker.

CHINA Town Hall is a national conversation about the country’s economic, political, and security relations with China. More than 80 venues around the country, including Drake, participate in the event. The webcast will be shown from 6 to 8 p.m. in Sussman Theater, and will be preceded by a live, on-site discussion with Ira Kasoff titled, “Are We on the Verge of the Chinese Century.” The event is free and open to the public.

China’s emergence as a global power, role as an important trading partner, and potential collaborator in key U.S. global policies ensures that U.S.-China relations will affect the lives of every American. This discussion will help participants to understand the challenges and opportunities of what has been characterized as the most important bilateral relationship of the 21st century.

Ira Kasoff is an author and senior counselor with APCO Worldwide. He is a former deputy assistant secretary for Asia with the U.S. Department of Commerce, principal commercial officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai, commercial counselor at the American Embassy in Tokyo, and senior commercial officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong. Earlier in his career, Kasoff worked for the Boston Consulting Group, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, and as the Beijing representative for the Fuqua World Trade Corporation.

Ambassador Susan E. Rice was national security advisor (2013–2017) for the Obama administration and U.S. permanent representative to the UN (2009–2013), as well as U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs and senior director for African affairs at the National Security Council. Her critical role as a presidential advisor developing and executing U.S. foreign policy make her perspective on the relationship especially relevant during this uncertain time in the bilateral relationship.

—Jeffrey Kappen, College of Business & Public Administration