China Leadership Summit 2015

The Duke-UNC China Leadership Summit is an annual student-run conference organized by Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  We invite leading experts to speak on topics of importance to Sino-US relations and create a platform for students from across the United States and China to exchange perspectives on these issues, connect with speakers, and network with one another.

This year, the conference focused on the theme "U.S. and China Grand Strategy in the Asia Pacific, Africa, and Beyond."  When using the term "grand strategy", we are referring to the fundamental awareness and articulation of a state's foreign policy--what type of world it seeks to build and what resources it will use to operate in that world.  Due to its rapidly growing economic power, China has extended its reach across the globe: from the mineral mines of Africa, to the oilfields in the Middle East, to the agriculture fields in Latin America, to the manufacturing centers of East Asia.  China's deepening economic, diplomatic, and military engagement with countries in the Asia Pacific and Africa are of particular note in recent years.  At CLS 2015, we sought to explore how the US and China are using both hard and soft power to assert their influence in these nations.

To kick off, we hosted speaker Aaron Friedberg from Princeton University's Center for International Security Studies, followed by a Chinese yo-yo performance and music from a guzheng player.  The following day was packed quite full!  Delegates participated in seminars with the director of Asian Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, the former Secretary-General of Hong Kong Federation of Students, a South Asia & Middle East Fellow at PoliTact, the Staff Director of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, a professor of African Studies, and a China-North Korea relations expert.  Next, students heard perspectives from the former ambassador to Ethiopia, the managing editor of online magazine ChinaFile, and finally, Dr. Deborah Brautigam, who is the leading expert on China-Africa relations.  The conference culminated with students competing in a case competition involving different foreign policy issues facing China.  

Our planning team is absolutely thrilled with the results of this year's conference, and we want to THANK YOU greatly for your support.  By giving to the Carolina China Network, you invested in the future leaders of US-China relations.  Some of these students are already back in China, working in internships and competing in language competitions.  Your support is reaping a great harvest!  If you are interested in donating in the future for next year's conference, we invite you to visit our China Leadership Summit project page.  If you would like to read more details about this year's conference, check out our website at http://www.dukeunccls.com/.

Thank you donors and friends for making this conference possible, and we look forward to connecting with you again soon!