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The Business Implications of
China's Return to Wealth and Power
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Second Annual John H. Holdridge
Memorial Lecture
Reception followed by lecture
Co-Sponsor: The Elliott School, The
George Washington University
Day and Time: Tuesday, May 20,
5:30-8:00 pm
Speaker: Ambassador, Chas. W. Freeman, Jr., Chairman of
Projects International
Cost: $20 MCBC members; $30 non-members
Location:
The George Washington
University
The Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Family Commons, Room 602
1957 E Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20052
Directions and Map CLICK HERE
Over the course of its long history, China has contributed in numerous
ways to the world of trade; however, for much of its modern history the
country has been somewhat of an economic backwater. This began to
change in the late 1970s as China opened up to the outside world.
Since then, China has become one of the fastest developing countries in
the world, has joined the World Trade Organization, has become a major
exporting power in numerous industries, has begun to develop a growing
"capitalist" class, and has become a major consumer of world
agricultural products. As China continues its rapid economic
development and fuller integration into the global economy, businesses
and countries alike will be faced with new opportunities and challenges.
Ambassador Chas. W. Freeman, Jr. is uniquely qualified to address this
topic given his involvement in US-China relations spanning almost four
decades. He became Chairman of Projects international in 1995
after an extensive 30-year career in the US Foreign Service, which
included positions as US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Assistant
Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.
Ambassador Freeman's experience in international affairs began in 1965
when he entered the US Foreign Service. After spending three years
as a consular official in India, he was assigned to Taiwan, beginning
his long involvement with China. He was the principal American
interpreter during President Nixon's historic 1972 visit to Beijing.
From 1979 through 1984, he served as the Director of Chinese Affairs at
the State Department, then as Charge and Deputy Chief of Mission at the
American Embassy in Beijing. He is the author of numerous articles
and commentaries on developments in East Asia, the Arabian Peninsula and
NATO, as well as two books on statecraft and diplomacy. Ambassador
Freeman received his AB from Yale University and a JD from Harvard Law
School. (Detailed bio CLICK
HERE).
This is an annual lecture established to commemorate the contributions
of Ambassador John H. Holdridge to the development of constructive
diplomatic and business relations between the United States of America
and the People's Republic of China.
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Ambassador Freeman is Chairman of Projects
International Associates, a Washington-based business development
corporation, President of the Middle East Policy Council, Co-Chair of the
United States-China Policy Foundation, Vice Chair of the Atlantic Council
of the United States, and a trustee of the Institute for Defense Analyses.
In 1993-1994 Ambassador Freeman served as Assistant Secretary of Defense
for International Security Affairs, earning the highest public service
awards of the Department of Defense for his roles in designing a
NATO-centered post-Cold War European security system and in reopening
defense dialogue with China. He was U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
(during Desert Shield and Desert Storm), Principal Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State for African Affairs (during the successful U.S.
mediation of Namibian independence from South Africa and Cuban troop
withdrawal from Angola), and Deputy Chief of Mission at both Bangkok and
Beijing. He was Country Director for China from 1979-1981, a member of the
advance team to open the U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing in 1973, and the
principal American interpreter during the late President Nixon's
path-breaking visit to China in 1972. In addition to his East Asian,
Middle Eastern, African, and European diplomatic experience, Ambassador
Freeman served in India.
Ambassador Freeman has a diploma
from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, a BA from Yale
University, and a JD from the Harvard Law School as well as certificates
from Taiwan in Chinese language (Mandarin and Taiwanese) and area studies.
He was elected to the American Academy of Diplomacy in 1995. His
award-winning book of quotations on statecraft and diplomacy, The
Diplomats Dictionary, was published in 1994. A
revised edition and a second book on the same subject, Arts of Power:
Statecraft and Diplomacy,
were published by the
United States Institute of Peace Press in 1997.
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