DURHAM, N.H. -- As President George W. Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao conduct high-level discussions about economic and political issues during Hu’s first visit to the United States, a distinguished panel of China and U.S.-Sino experts will discuss the political, military and economic challenges facing the world’s most populous country tonight in Concord, N.H.

The New Hampshire Fulbright Association presents “China’s Challenge for the 21st Century” at the Franklin Pierce Law Center, Thursday, April 20, 2006. The reception in the rotunda begins at 6:30 p.m., with the panel discussion starting at 7 p.m. in the Rich Room. The event is free and open to the public.

The panelists are Robert Ross, Boston College, who will discuss political and military challenges; Lawrence C. Reardon, University of New Hampshire, who will discuss economic challenges; and Zhao Shusen, China Institutes on Contemporary International Relations (Beijing), who will discuss challenges from Beijing’s view.

Robert Ross
Professor, Boston College
Ross’s research focuses on Chinese foreign and defense policy, with an emphasis on Chinese use of force and deterrence strategies, China’s security policy in East Asia, and U.S.-China relations. His current research project examines deterrence dynamics in the Taiwan Strait, the Korean Peninsula, and the South China Sea. His major works include U.S. China Relations, 1955 1971: A Reexamination of Cold War Conflict and Cooperation, Engaging China: The Management of an Emerging Power, and Great Wall and Empty Fortress: China's Search for Security. Ross is also research associate of the John King Fairbank Center for East Asian Research, Harvard University; senior advisor, Security Studies Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Lawrence C. Reardon
Associate Professor, University of New Hampshire
Reardon focuses on Chinese foreign economic policy, with special emphasis on elite politics and development strategies. He is currently working on elite strategies in opening China’s economy to the outside world in the 1980s. He has published The Reluctant Dragon: Crisis Cycles in Chinese Foreign Economic Policy, translated two volumes of Chinese foreign economic policy documents, and co-edited the upcoming volume, The Catholic Church and the Nation-State: Comparative Perspectives. He is a research associate at the John King Fairbanks Center for East Asian Studies at Harvard University and coordinator of Asian Studies at the University of New Hampshire.

Zhao Shusen
China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR)
Zhao is associated with CICIR, where he has published several articles on China’s rising status as a world economic power, globalization, the Chinese and Japanese economies, SARS in Asia, and Sino-U.S. relations. He formerly was an assistant professor at Heilongjiang Law School. He is currently carrying out research at the University of New Hampshire.

Directions
To visit the Law Center, follow Interstate 93 to Exit 14. From the South: Turn left (west) at the light at the end of the Exit 14 ramp onto Loudon Road (Centre Street). Proceed .8 miles to the junction of Centre and Washington Streets. Turn right onto Washington Street and proceed to the Law Center. Parking is available just past the school in lots adjacent to the Washington Street Café at the corner of Rumford and Washington Streets. From the North: Turn right (west) at the light at the end of the Exit 14 ramp onto Loudon Road (Centre Street). Proceed .8 miles to the junction of Centre and Washington Streets. Turn right onto Washington Street and proceed to the Law Center. Parking is available just past the school in lots adjacent to the Washington Street Café at the corner of Rumford and Washington Streets.