Today, the Hatch Center—the policy arm of the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation—joined World Trade Center Utah, Harris Bricken, the US-China Business Council, and the Deseret News in hosting a webinar: “The China Paradox: Geopolitics, Chinese Economic Policy, and What it Means for US Businesses.”
The event focused on the evolving US-China bilateral relationship and the implications of these changes for American companies and individuals. Hatch Foundation Executive Director Matt Sandgren led a panel discussion on Congress’s role in shaping China policy that included Martin Gold, Former Sen. Mary L. Landrieu, Former Rep. Charles E. Boustany Jr., M.D., and Former Rep. Howard L. Berman.
“The pandemic underscored just how dependent the American supply chain is on China,” said Sandgren. “To secure our economic competitiveness, we must diversify our supply chain—and we must take seriously China’s ambition to become the next tech capital of the world. Whether it’s artificial intelligence or the deployment of 5G, there are a number of areas where Beijing is giving the US a run for its money. We simply can’t afford to fall behind. The future of American soft power depends on our ability to win the new arms race in tech.”
“With China’s rise to global power, its influence can be seen and felt all over the world—from the boardrooms in the world’s major financial centers to the backroads of Africa,” said Berman. “As the former Chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, I learned that even if the US and China can work together on a positive basis to address regional and global issues—and I sincerely hope we can—there will inevitably be disagreements and points of friction. When those arise, the United States must never hesitate to speak out and take action, particularly when American interests and values and those of our allies and partners are at stake.”
“We’ve entered a new era of US-China relations that requires us to take a closer look at how we conduct business, diplomacy, and military exercises in the Asia-Pacific,” said Boustany. “We should be clear-eyed about China’s global ambitions and make our foreign policy decisions accordingly. How the US-China relationship evolves will come to define international politics in the 21st century.”
