National Committee on United States–China Relations

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National Committee on United States–China Relations
Formation1966; 58 years ago (1966)
Type501(c)3 organization
13-2566973
PurposeTo promote United States-China relations
Headquarters6 E. 43 Street, 24th Floor, Manhattan
Membership
By invitation
President
Stephen Orlins
Vice President
Jan Berris
Websitewww.ncuscr.org Edit this at Wikidata

The National Committee on United States China Relations (NCUSCR) is a nonprofit organization and advisory body founded in 1966 to encourage understanding and cooperation between the United States and China. Since 1966, the committee has conducted exchanges, educational, and policy activities in the areas of politics and security, education, governance and civil society, economic cooperation, media, and transnational issues, addressing these topics with respect to Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

History

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The National Committee on United States–China Relations was founded in 1966 by a coalition of academic "China watchers," civic, religious, and business leaders who were concerned with China's isolation and American apparent interest in maintaining that situation. Cecil Thomas, a Secretary of the American Friends Service Committee, was influential in recruiting and organizing them, and became the organization's first executive director. [1]

The committee was energized by helping to organize two groundbreaking conferences: the “Institute on China Today” held at University of California, Berkeley in 1964, and the “National Conference on the United States and China” in Washington, D.C. in 1965. Together, they gave a platform to debate the reshaping of the approach towards China. There was heated disagreement among even the scholars, but figures such as Henry Luce and American businessmen argued against defenders of the policy. There was widespread interest from newspapers, television, and the general public.[2]

Several presidents had wanted to move closer to normalization of relations with China but faced resistance in Congress.[3] In 1971, the committee hosted a roundtable featuring guest speakers from countries that had begun exchanges with China in advance of official diplomatic relations.[4]: 36  Members of the committee expressed the view that like these countries, Americans could develop ad hoc cooperative relations with China.[4]: 36–37  The committee's mission was to educate the public, but it soon found itself in the position to offer information and advice to President Lyndon B. Johnson and other political leaders. In 1972, it co-hosted the Chinese table tennis team's tour of the United States, a widely publicized event that captured world attention. The historic two-way exchange by American and Chinese table tennis teams became known as Ping Pong Diplomacy.[5]

The Committee originally had intended to be only a "catalyst" in opening relations with China, a short-term temporary goal. But a change in this attitude came when it was called upon to manage the visit of the Chinese table-tennis team, part of American ping-pong diplomacy. Because there were no official diplomatic relations between the two countries, the State Department had to rely on private resources. The Committee stepped in, raised money, and made arrangements. This experience changed the committee's relations with American and Chinese officials, as well as its own goals.[6] In the 1980s, the Committee expanded its work to promote sustained interactions between influential Chinese and Americans in governance, media, urban planning, international relations, and economic management.[7]

On 15 November 2023, the National Committee on United States–China Relations and the US-China Business Council hosted a banquet with Xi Jinping for US business executives during the APEC United States 2023 meeting.[8][9] The banquet drew questions from media about attendees and criticism from the United States House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.[10][11][12]

Board of directors

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Vice chairs

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Treasurer

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  • Keith W. Abell

Secretary

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  • I. Peter Wolff

Members

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Former chairs

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Notes

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  1. ^ MangMang (1976), p. 5-7.
  2. ^ MangMang (1976), p. 8-9.
  3. ^ Kissinger, Henry (2011). On China. London: Penguin Press. pp. 198–199, 203. ISBN 978-0143121312.
  4. ^ a b Minami, Kazushi (2024). People's Diplomacy: How Americans and Chinese Transformed US-China Relations during the Cold War. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9781501774157.
  5. ^ Kissinger, Henry (2011). On China. London: Penguin Press. p. 232. ISBN 978-0143121312.
  6. ^ Crean, Jeffrey (2021). "A New Sphere of Influence: Table Tennis Diplomacy and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations". Journal of American-East Asian Relations. 28 (2): 109–132. doi:10.1163/18765610-28020003. S2CID 237860408.
  7. ^ Wheeler (2012).
  8. ^ Martina, Michael (2023-11-14). "Tricky politics on menu for China's Xi at US business dinner". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2023-11-14. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  9. ^ Swanson, Ana (2023-11-08). "Xi Jinping to Address U.S. Business Leaders Amid Rising Skepticism of China Ties". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2023-11-13. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  10. ^ Koch, M.J. (November 14, 2023). "The High Cost — $40,000 for a Filet Mignon — of Dining With Xi Jinping". The New York Sun. Archived from the original on November 15, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  11. ^ Jacob, Gu (November 14, 2023). "Xi's Arrival in US Brings Protesters and Fans Onto Streets". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on November 14, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023. The Republican wrote to the US-China Business Council and National Committee on US-China Relations demanding the organizers provide details of the guest list, funding and profits. Neither group responded to Bloomberg's request for comment on the dinner.
  12. ^ "Activists Protest China's Xi Even Before He Arrives at APEC". Voice of America. November 13, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  13. ^ "Board of Directors". NCUSCR. Retrieved 2023-03-19.

Illustrative publications

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References and further reading

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  • Barnett, A. D., & Reischauer, E. O. (1970). The United States and China: The next decade. New York: Praeger.
  • "National Committee on United States-China Relations." Berkshire Encyclopedia of China, Volume 3, Great Barrington, MA. Berkshire Publishing Group, 2009. (p. 1548-1555)
  • Berris, Jan Carol (1986). "The Evolution of Sino-American Relations: A view from the National Committee" (PDF). In Kallgren D. F. Simon, J. K. (ed.). Educational Exchanges: Essays on the Sino-American Experience. Berkeley: University of California Institute of East Asian Studies. pp. 80–92.
  • Bullock, Mary Brown (2005), "Mission Accomplished: The Influence of the CSCCRP", in Li, Cheng (ed.), Bridging Minds Across the Pacific: US-China Educational Exchanges, 1978-2003, pp. 49–68
  • Cohen, Warren. (1986). While China faced east: Chinese-American cultural relations. In J. K. Kallgren & D. F. Simon (Eds.), Educational exchanges: Essays on the Sino-American experience (p. 49). Berkeley: University of California, Institute of East Asian Studies.
  • Harding, H. (1992). A fragile relationship: The United States and China since 1972. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution.
  • Kallgren, J. K. (1986). Public interest and private interest in Sino–American exchanges: De Toqueville's "Associations" in action. In J. K. Kallgren & D. F. Simon (Eds.), Educational exchanges: Essays on the Sino-American experience (p. 65). Berkeley: University of California, Institute of East Asian Studies.
  • Lampton, David M.; Madancy, Joyce A.; Williams, Kristen M. (1986). A Relationship Restored: Trends in U.S.-China Educational Exchanges, 1978-1984. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. ISBN 030903678X.
  • Madsen, R. (1995). China and the American dream: A moral inquiry. Berkeley: University of California Press.
  • Mang, Robert; Mang, Pamela (1976), A History of the Origins of the National Committee on United States–China Relations (PDF), Unpublished report. Prepared at the request of the Christopher Reynolds Foundation
  • Wheeler, Norton (2012), The Role of American NGOs in China's Modernization: Invited Influence, Asia's Transformations, New York: Routledge, ISBN 9780415506571 Chapter Two, "The National Committee on United States-China Relations."
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National Committee on United States–China Relations

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