News from the John W. Kluge Center: Watch Now: The Persistent Challenge of US-China Tech

Watch Now: The Persistent Challenge of US-China Tech

Our panel discussion on the problem of US-China tech is now available! Watch here.

Conflict over technology has been a flashpoint in relations between the US and China in recent years. Apps like WeChat and TikTok, major companies like Facebook and Google, and even new technologies like 5G and advanced computer chips have been at the heart of international competition in recent years. While the new American presidential administration is unlikely to end that dynamic, President Biden may choose to handle it differently from his predecessor. Panelists highlight the main challenges that the administration will face and consider the possible decisions and outcomes.

Moderator:

Aynne Kokas is an associate professor of media studies at the University of Virginia and a senior faculty fellow at the Miller Center for Public Affairs. Kokas is a recent Kluge Fellow. Her multiple-award-winning first book, “Hollywood Made in China” (University of California Press, 2017) argues that Chinese investment and regulations have transformed the US commercial media industry. Her next book project “Data Trafficking: The United States, China, and the Global Battle for Data Security” examines the policy implications of the transfer of consumer data between the United States and China. Kokas' research has also appeared in Information, Communication, and Society, Journal of Asian Studies, PLOS One, and others. Kokas is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

 

Panelists:

Yaqiu Wang is a China researcher at Human Rights Watch, working on issues including internet censorship, freedom of expression, protection of civil society and human rights defenders, and women’s rights. Wang was born and grew up in China, and has a MA degree in International Affairs from George Washington University. Wang is a columnist for MSNBC. Her articles have also appeared in Foreign Policy, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and elsewhere. She has provided commentary to the BBC, CNN, the New York Times and others. Prior to joining Human Rights Watch, Wang worked for the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Wenhong Chen is an associate professor of media studies and sociology, the founding co-director of Center for Entertainment and Media Industries, and a Distinguished Scholar in the Robert Strauss Center for International Security and Law at the University of Texas at Austin.  Dr. Chen earned her PhD in sociology from the University of Toronto in Canada and was a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow at Duke University. Dr. Chen has more than 90 publications, including articles in top-ranked journals in the fields of communication and media studies, sociology, and management. Dr. Chen’s research has received awards from the Academy of Management, International Association of Chinese Management Research, American Sociological Association, International Communication Association, and National Communication Association. 

Adam Segal is the Ira A. Lipman chair in emerging technologies and national security and director of the Digital and Cyberspace Policy program at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). An expert on security issues, technology development, and Chinese domestic and foreign policy, Segal was the project director for the CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force reports Innovation and “National Security: Keeping Our Edge” and “Defending an Open, Global, Secure, and Resilient Internet.” His book “The Hacked World Order: How Nations Fight, Trade, Maneuver, and Manipulate in the Digital Age” (PublicAffairs, 2016) describes the increasingly contentious geopolitics of cyberspace. His work has appeared in the Financial Times, the New York Times, Foreign Policy, the Wall Street Journal, and Foreign Affairs, among others. He currently writes for the blog, “Net Politics.”

Watch the full event here.