Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and China’s ambassador to the US, Cui Tiankai, will be the honorees at the 2017 Annual Conference of the Committee of 100 (C100), a leadership organization composed of prominent Chinese Americans in business, government, academia and the arts, when it meets in Washington, DC next week.
The May 18-20 conference is billed as the United States’ premier conference on US-China relations and Asian American advancement. Asia Times is an official media sponsor of the event.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approved Branstad’s nomination to be the next US ambassador to China on May 9.
Commenting on this year’s conference, C100 Chairman Frank H. Wu said: “US-China relations are now at the forefront of American foreign policy, national security, and economic growth. The ties between these two great nations also affect everything on the face of the globe, from climate change to North Korea to technological innovation to cultural trends. Yet there is anxiety on both sides. C100 plays the crucial role of bringing people together.”
Panel topics at the conference’s May 19 all-day summit include “Geopolitics in the Trump-Xi Era,” “The Role of Media in US-China Relations,” and “US-China Soft Power Dynamics.” Asia Times Columnist George Koo will the chair the media panel.
Former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, ex-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and AIG Chairman Hank Greenberg have been speakers at past conferences.
The C100 is a nonpartisan institution founded over 25 years ago by architect I.M. Pei, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and other leading Chinese Americans. US citizens are invited to join the organization based on their extraordinary achievements.
The conference is being held at the Ronald Reagan Building and the JW Marriott hotel in Washington.
Further information on the event, including attendance, can be found at the committee’s website.