FP editor in chief, Ravi Agrawal sat down for a regular China discussion with three experts: Ryan Hass, a former China director at the National Security Council; Zongyuan Zoe Liu, a Council on Foreign Relations fellow and Foreign Policy columnist; and James Palmer, a deputy editor at Foreign Policy and writer of China Brief.
The discussion encompassed highlights from the recent meeting between the presidents of China and Russia, the recently concluded “two sessions” meetings in Beijing—an annual rubber-stamp convening—and the ongoing dramas over TikTok and a recent public sighting of Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba. The bit our editors want to highlight in particular, however, involves rival diplomatic missions from Taiwan. Former President Ma Ying-jeou became the first sitting or former leader to visit mainland China since 1949, a trip Taipei’s ruling party has called “regrettable.” It comes right as President Tsai Ing-wen prepares to visit the United States and Central America this week.
Ryan Hass
Senior fellow, Brookings Institution
Ryan Hass is a senior fellow and the Michael H. Armacost chair in Foreign Policy studies at the Brookings Institution. He was China director at the National Security Council from 2013 to 2017 and served in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing from 2008 to 2012. He is the author of Stronger: Adapting America’s China Strategy in an Age of Competitive Interdependence.
Zongyuan Zoe Liu
Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
Zongyuan Zoe Liu is an FP columnists and a fellow for international political economy at the Council on Foreign Relations.
James Palmer
Deputy editor, Foreign Policy
James Palmer is a deputy editor at Foreign Policy and writes FP’s weekly China Brief newsletter. Palmer is the author of The Bloody White Baron: The Extraordinary Story of the Russian Nobleman Who Became the Last Khan of Mongolia and The Death of Mao: The Tangshan Earthquake and the Birth of the New China.
Host
Ravi Agrawal
Editor in chief, Foreign Policy
Ravi Agrawal is the editor in chief of Foreign Policy, the host of FP Live, and a regular world affairs analyst on TV and radio. Before joining FP in 2018, Agrawal worked at CNN for more than a decade in full-time roles spanning three continents, including as the network’s New Delhi bureau chief and correspondent. He has shared a Peabody Award and three Emmy nominations for his work as a TV producer, and his writing for FP was part of a series nominated for a 2020 National Magazine Award for columns and commentary. Agrawal is the author of India Connected: How the Smartphone Is Transforming the World’s Largest Democracy. He is a graduate of Harvard University.
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