U.S. policy-makers confront a variety of alternative models when they think about how the U.S. should deal with the People's Republic of China. This talk analyzes the historical reality, which is at odds with some twentieth- and twenty-first century representations of China, and concludes with a discussion of the implications of misunderstandings on shaping relations between the US and the PRC today.

Evelyn Rawski's many books on late imperial Chinese social and institutional history include Educational and Popular Literacy in Ch’ing China (University of Michigan Press, 1979) and The Last Emperors: A Social History of Qing Imperial Institutions (University of California Press, 1998). Capping her record of service to the field, she has served as President of the Association for Asian Studies (1995-96). Her current research concentrates on Northeast Asia, examining the interactions of regimes in China, Korea and Japan during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

China's current economic boom is a major event in world economic history. This presentation will touch on China's current economic circumstances, China's economic prospects, and the roots of China's new prosperity, which extend to the decades and centuries before the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949.

Thomas G. Rawski is Professor of Economics and History and UCIS Research Professor at the University of Pittsburgh. His work focuses on the development and modern history of China’s economy, including studies of China’s reform mechanism and achievements, as well as analyses focused on industry, labor markets, environment, and economic measurement. His recent publications include co-edited books on China’s Rise and the Balance of Influence in Asia (2007) and China’s Great Economic Transformation (2008) and a forthcoming paper on “Human Resources and China’s Long Economic Boom.”

This presentation focuses on the development of international ranking systems of higher education institutions and the role these rankings play in Chinese higher education development. Positioning China within the regional and international landscape is crucial to understanding the role higher education institutions play in sustaining China's remarkable transition into a market-oriented global economy and attempts the government has made at building world-class universities.


W. James Jacob is the Director of the University of Pittsburgh Institute for International Studies in Education (IISE), which is based in the School of Education. He has published extensively on various higher education topics including higher education rankings. Jacob has worked with a number of private, public, bi-lateral, and multi-lateral organizations in his research endeavors, including ADB, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNESCO, The World Bank, and multiple government ministries of education and health.

Yuchi Song is a Project Associate at IISE and a doctoral student in the University of Pittsburgh Department of Administrative and Policy Studies. He recently received a MS in Public Policy and Management Analysis from Carnegie Mellon University. Currently, Song has research interests in Chinese higher education reform as well as the topic of the emergency management training and education.

Zhang and Coldren outline what foreign enterprises need to know to start up in China:

What business opportunities/formats are permitted by Chinese Law
Steps to materialize a business opportunity with China
How to negotiate with a Chinese partner
How Chinese law can contribute to US trade deficit
How to protect IP rights in China
Information freedom under Chinese law

Mr. Coldren is currently Senior Counsel Intellectual Property for Westinghouse Electric Company LLC.  He has over ten years of experience practicing intellectual property law, both in private practice and within the corporate setting. Mr. Coldren has undergraduate degrees in both Mathematics and Electrical Engineering and he received his Juris Doctorate from the Duquesne University School of Law.  He is licensed to practice in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is a registered patent attorney with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, currently the Vice Chair of Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Intellectual Property Law Section and frequently gives presentations on a variety of intellectual property law subjects.

Heidi Zhang is Senior Counsel, Asia, of Westinghouse Electric Company. She formerly was Assistant Counsel, Asia/Pacific of PPG Industries, Inc. and attorney at Cohen & Grigsby, P.C. providing legal services to U.S. companies doing business with China. Ms. Zhang received legal education in both the People's Republic of China and the United States of America, and she is licensed to practice in both China and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Ms. Zhang currently is a member of the Advisory Committee of Asian American Film Festival of Pittsburgh and a founding member of PCCC (Pittsburgh China Chamber of Commerce) and a member of the Local Working Committee of G-20 of Allegheny Conference on Community Development. She frequently gives presentations on international business and law and CLE (Continue Legal Education) on legal practice in China. She is an adjunct professor teaching Chinese for Lawyers at University of Pittsburgh, School of Law, and was a faculty member (2006 and 2007) of the Global Leadership Executive Summer Forum of Carnegie Bosch Institute, Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business.

"In What Ways Does Law Matter in China? A Panoramic Survey of a Churning Polity and Economy"
Since the initiation of China’s economic reforms in 1978, the government has been very active on the legal front, passing new statutes and regulations ranging from foreign investment and banking to marriage and divorce.  These efforts have sometimes been coupled with publicity campaigns aimed at educating people about their legal rights.  Some scholars have argued that these efforts have led to important changes; there is evidence, for instance, that many citizens know how to use legal language and have learned how to challenge authorities. Others, however, contend that law, lawyers and courts do not matter that much. Instead, they note, power is frequently wielded in an arbitrary manner and citizens have a great difficulty gaining access to the legal system to redress grievances.  This talk seeks a middle ground by suggesting a variety a circumstances in which law, broadly conceived, matters to individuals, firms and organizations active in China today.


"Did Revolution Serve Reform? The Maoist Period as Preparation for China's Boom"
The Maoist period in China is generally known for its political and economic radicalism, particularly in the early 1950s and mid-1960s during the Cultural Revolution Yet, in many ironic ways, the tumultuous events of those years served to prepare the country for the second revolution--the last 30 years of semi-capitalist economic reform. This talk will provide an overview of the Maoist years and explain the important connections between the two periods.


Dr. Diamant’s research focuses on law and society in Asia (with particular reference to China, Japan, and India), civil-military relations in China, patriotism in comparative perspective, and (most recently) public health. He also teaches courses Israeli politics and Zionism. In addition to numerous articles and book chapters, Diamant is the author of Revolutionizing the family: politics, love, and divorce in urban and rural China, 1949-1968 (University of California Press, 2000); Embattled glory : veterans, military families, and the politics of patriotism in China, 1949-2007 (Rowman and Littlefield, 2009); and co-editor, with Stanley B. Lubman and Kevin J. O’Brien, of Engaging the law in China : state, society, and possibilities for justice (Stanford University Press, 2005). He received his PhD in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1996.

In a highly engaging presentation, David Iwinski shares the lessons of a life spent working in Asia since 1988, including living in China for over four years and now going there every six weeks. He will discuss the practical reality of working in a high-growth developing economy and also introduce participants to the skills they need to get started and take full advantage of Asia growth markets. Key issues covered include Cultural issues in Asia, basic rules to get started in China and an update on current business and growth trends in China with an emphasis on US competiveness. Mr. Iwinski has worked as a global contracts attorney, ran advanced manufacturing in China and did a high-tech services start-up in India. He will share his practical “on the ground” advice for navigating complex international issues for members seeking to gain access to the benefits of China markets.

David Iwinski Jr. is the Managing Director of Jin Fu Consulting LLC, a firm that is focused on assisting cross border mergers and acquisitions between China and North America and also assisting North American firms in developing growth and markets in Asia. From 2008 to 2010, Mr. Iwinski was Chief Executive Officer of Denex Labs LLC, a Pittsburgh-based global dental laboratory. Denex Labs utilized global production in China, Korea and India. He was the Chief Executive Officer of Acusis LLC (starting as founding CEO in 2001 and continuing until 2008) which is a medical technology, software and transcription company with customers in the United States and production and software development in India and the Philippines. Before starting Acusis, Mr. Iwinski worked at Respironics for four years as Managing Director for China and South East Asia. In that role he lived in Hong Kong and was responsible for all Asian manufacturing and for China sales. Preceding Respironics, Mr. Iwinski worked as an attorney at Daimler-Benz Transportation for 8 years as a Contract Negotiator and later as an International Commercial Coordinator. Mr. Iwinski graduated in 1984 from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with a BA in Literature and a Minor in Music. In 1988 he earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Mr. Iwinski serves on the Board of Trustees of Seton Hill University, The Pittsburgh Symphony and the Westmoreland Cultural Trust.

Over the past 30 years, China has embarked on an extensive program of legal reforms that have profoundly impacted the ordinary lives of its citizens. New forms of property rights over firms, real estate, or durable goods along with changes in civil, administrative and criminal laws have fundamentally redefined the ways in which Chinese citizens relate to their government. Yet, China is also a highly decentralized system where the power of local authorities is both immense and fragmented. I disscus the constraints and challenges that county and municipal governments face as they navigate the contradictory expectations of central authorities and the demands from ordinary citizens about the speed and content of legal reforms, as well as their political implications for the stability of the regime.

Pierre F. Landry will join the department of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh in the Summer of 2011. He is also a Research Fellow at the Research Center for the Study of Contemporary China at Peking University and an outside consultant on projects related to governance and rule of law with the United Nations Development Program in Hanoi, Vietnam. Pierre Landry graduated in Economics and Law at Sciences Po in Paris, has an M.A. in Foreign Affairs at the University of Virginia and received his PhD in Political Science at the University of Michigan. He is also an alumnus of the Hopkins-Nanjing program and taught in the Yale-Peking university joint undergraduate program in 2007. His research interests focus on Asian and Chinese politics, comparative local government, quantitative comparative analysis and survey research. Since 2007, he has been a consultant for the Universities Service Centre for China Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong where he participates in the development of the Barometer on China's Development (BOCD), a project which aims to build a multidimensional GIS database of county and city development in China. His recent articles have appeared in Political Analysis, The China Quarterly and Comparative Political Studies. Dr. Landry's research has focused on the political management of cadres in China, looking at both the CCP's Formal and Informal channels control over local elites. He is the author of "Authoritarianism and Decentralization: The Party and Local Elites in Post-Deng China", by Cambridge University Press (2008). He is currently researching a book manuscript on the development of legal institutions in china, tentatively titled “Nurturing fragile institutions”.

Dr. Wen Xie holds a joint appointment of Associate Professor at the Center for Pharmacogenetics and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the School of Pharmacy, and Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology at the School of Medicine. He obtained his MD degree from Peking University Health Science Center in 1991, and PhD in Cell Biology from University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1997. He joined the University of Pittsburgh in 2002. Dr. Xie is the author or coauthor of over 90 journal articles and book chapters and more than 100 invited lectures at conferences and universities, and he is the sole editor of Nuclear Receptors in Drug Metabolism (Wiley, 2008). Dr. Xie is the recipient of the University of Pittsburgh Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award (2008), the James R. Gillette International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics (ISSX) North American New Investigator Award (2008), and the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) Division for Drug Metabolism Early Career Achievement Award (2009).

Branstetter draws upon recent economic research to argue that it is extremely likely that China will become a larger economy than the U.S. within a few decades.  He then shows how this rise need pose no threat whatsoever to the steady growth in the standard of living of the American people, even as it requires a rather
fundamental shift in America's place in the world.

Dr. Branstetter, who holds a joint appointment in the Carnegie Mellon University Social and Decision Sciences Department, is also a faculty research fellow of the National Bureau of Economic Research and serves as an associate editor of the Journal of International Economics. He has served as a consultant to the OECD Science and Technology Directorate, the Advanced Technology Program of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the World Bank. In recent years, Branstetter has been a research fellow of the Keio University Global Security Research Institute and a visiting fellow of the Research Institute of Economy, Trade, and Industry in Japan.

This presentation will discuss China's efforts to adjust its economy to achieve "sustainability", using the growth of its renewable energy industry as an illustration.

Lou Schwartz is a Senior Lecturer at Carnegie Mellon University, where he currently co-teaches Technology and Development in India and China, and an adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh, where he has taught Law and Development in China, Chinese for Lawyers and Chinese Legal Documents.  Lou also is president of China Strategies LLC<http://www.chinastrategiesllc.com/index.htm>, a consultancy that assists financial and industrial businesses, and non-profit organizations and governments navigate business and other contacts with China.  Lou earned degrees in East Asian Studies from the University of Michigan and Harvard University and a J.D. from George Washington University.  Lou has published widely on China’s emerging renewable energy industry.