China, America & Questions in the Balance

We take at look at the United States and China now, as the Chinese president makes a big visit to Washington.

Jackie Chan was there last night, at the White House state dinner for Chinese President Hu Jintao. Anna Wintour for glam. Yo-Yo Ma for class. George Shultz and Henry Kissinger for old times’ sake. Kissinger clinked glasses with the Chinese leader — and Barbara Streisand — at the end table.

But little about the U.S.-China relationship is old these days. Most is new. New and rising Chinese power. New opportunities and conflict over trade and economies. New Chinese confidence. A new Obama administration impatience with soft talk.

We look at the U.S. and China, in the spotlight again.
-Tom Ashbrook
**Find links here to some of On Point's 2008 shows in Shanghai, including programs with the "Oprah of China" and with factions in the Communist Party.

Guests:

John Pomfret, diplomatic & Asian affairs correspondent for the Washington Post. He has covered China on and off for many years and is a former Beijing Bureau Chief for the paper.

Li Jin, professor of finance at Harvard Business School. He has taught at Fudan University in Shanghai and served as a consultant for Shanghai International Securities Co. Ltd.

Evan Osnos, staff for The New Yorker based in China.

Clyde Prestowitz, founder and President of the Economic Strategy Institute. He's author of “The Betrayal of American Prosperity: Free Market Delusions, America’s Decline, and How We Must Compete in the Post-Dollar Era.”