Zbigniew Brzezinski, former U.S. national security advisor to President Jimmy Carter, addressed audiences scattered across the United States and China, including the University's Nau Auditorium, via live webcast yesterday, to discuss the direction of U.S.-China relations.
The town hall address was followed by a discussion with renowned economist Nick Lardy.
U.S.-China relations are especially important now, given the developing power and influence China has both economically and diplomatically, Brzezinksi said.
"Today, each side knows, and the leaders certainly know ... that we need each other," he said. If there was a significant rift between the two countries, both would be damaged, he added.
President Obama announced yesterday the permanent placement of 2,500 troops in Australia, which Brzezinski said reflected a change in American foreign policy focus from the Middle East to Asia.
"We have to balance the new political realities," Brzezinski said. "I don't think, at this stage, we need to engage in a deliberate policy of forming ... a web of alliances against China."
Brzezinski said U.S.-China relations are at a crossroads. The relationship between the two nations will improve if the countries foster an open and honest dialogue, he said. If China becomes suspicious of U.S. actions, however, these relations may deteriorate, he said.
Brzezinski also addressed the possibility that China could pose a military threat to the United States.
"We have to engage, if we can, in serious discussions with China regarding the balance of force and the evolution of our force structure and our respective interests," he said. U.S. leaders must "evaluate at what point Chinese modernization and militarization could become ... a serious threat to us."
After Brzezinksi's address, Lardy focused on China as a rising economic power.
"[The United States] has a very large bilateral trade relationship with China," Lardy said.
Lardy hopes that the relationship between China and the United States will facilitate a long-term economic relationship and engender solutions to emerging economic problems.
The Chinese government introduced a large, well-designed stimulus package before the recent global economic crisis became serious, leaving the country unscathed, Lardy said.
Despite these economic strengths, Lardy pointed to several structural problems in China, including a property value bubble and high interest rates.
"They're going to have to undertake some very fundamental reforms," he said. "Take with a grain of salt the predictions that China will overtake [the United States] in a relatively short period of time."
The town hall was sponsored by the National Committee on United States-China Relations and the University's Asia Institute.
Asia Institute Outreach Coordinator Rachel Stauffer emphasized the importance of events like the China Town Hall in promoting awareness of U.S.-China relations.
"We think that [China] is so far away, but if you walk around your house and you look at where things are made, everything's made in China," she said. "I think this brings [China's significance] into a different perspective"
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