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By Elizabeth M. Lynch, March 14, 2013

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 14, 2013

Readout of the President’s Phone Call with Chinese President Xi Jinping

The President called Chinese President Xi Jinping today to congratulate him on his new position and to discuss the future of the U.S.-China relationship. The President underscored his firm commitment to increasing practical cooperation to address Asia’s and the world’s most pressing economic and security challenges. Both leaders agreed on the value of regular high-level engagement to expand cooperation and coordination.  The President noted that Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew will visit China next week and that Secretary of State John Kerry will also visit Beijing in the coming weeks as part of his upcoming trip to Asia. The President highlighted the threat to the United States, its allies, and the region from North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs and stressed the need for close coordination with China to ensure North Korea meets its denuclearization commitments. President Obama welcomed China’s G-20 commitment to move towards a more flexible exchange rate, and he underscored the importance of working together to expand trade and investment opportunities and to address issues such as the protection of intellectual property rights. In this context, the President highlighted the importance of addressing cyber-security threats, which represent a shared challenge. The two leaders agreed to maintain frequent and direct communication.

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By Elizabeth M. Lynch, November 13, 2011

Since 2007, the National Committee for US-China Relations (NCUCR) has hosted a “China Town Hall,” a national day of awareness of the U.S.’ relationship with China.  As part of this Town Hall, the NCUCR organizes events throughout the country, hosts a webchat with a prominent China person (last year was US Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman), and encourages the local events to invite their own local guest speaker for a live conversation.

For the 2011 China Town Hall, NCUCR will be hosting a webchat with President Carter’s National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski.  Although it was President Nixon who was the first U.S. president to visit the People’s Republic of China (PRC), it was under President Carter that relations with the PRC were normalized and recognition of the Republic of China (Taiwan) was cut.  Dr. Brzezinski was in the middle of all these decisions.  More recently, Dr. Brzezinski has commented on the US-China relationship in a January 2011 N.Y. Times op-ed (see criticism of his opinion here).

Where to watch the China Town Hall? In the New York City area, this year’s China Town Hall will be hosted by

Prof. Rebecca MacKinnon

Fordham Law School, with the local guest none other than internet freedom guru Rebecca MacKinnon.  Now, I have never seen Prof. MacKinnon speak before, but in following her blog and her twitter feed, I have a feeling her talk is not to be missed.

BUT for the Fordham event, you NEED to RSVP – the event is free but RSVP is required.  Please RSVP here: http://cthnyc.eventbrite.com

China Town Hall
Fordham Law School
McNally Auditorium – 140 West 62^nd Street, New York, NY
Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011
6:45 – 9 pm

6:45 p.m.  Doors Open
7:00 p.m.  Webchat with Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski
7:45 p.m.  Live Talk with Prof. Rebecca MacKinnon
8:30 p.m.  Q&A with Prof. MacKinnon

Remember to RSVP here: http://cthnyc.eventbrite.com

For a listing of China Town Hall Events in your neighborhood, click here: http://www.ncuscr.org/cth