Global Tipping Points Series: "Wary Neighbors: Japan & China"

"Wary Neighbors: Evolving Ties Between Japan and China &
America's Pivot East"

U.S. President Barack Obama hoped to pivot to Asia in his second term – as wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wrapped up – with plans to add military forces in the Pacific and strengthen business and diplomatic ties with the region.

But with Japan and China still wary neighbors, and both countries facing internal and external challenges ranging from slow economic growth, rapidly aging populations and regional disputes over territory, what lies ahead for East Asia? And what is America’s role as China continues to assert itself regionally and globally and President Obama was forced to cancel a recent Asia visit due to the government shutdown? Kathleen Molony will take us behind the headlines on the evolving relationship between these global superpowers.

Kathleen Molony is in her thirteenth year as director of the Fellows Program at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. She is also a member of the Center's executive committee. Before coming to Harvard, she worked at the Massachusetts Office of International Trade and Investment, most recently as its executive director. As the top international trade official in the state, she advised the Governor on foreign policy and international trade issues. She has been a consultant, working more than a dozen years at the economic forecasting and research firm, DRI/McGraw-Hill. Kathleen also has taught at Princeton University and at the University of Michigan. She has written widely on Japan and East Asia, and is co-author of a political biography (book manuscript in progress). During the 1993-1994 academic year, she was an advanced research fellow at Harvard University's Program on U.S.-Japan Relations. Kathleen sits on the boards of several local organizations, including the Boston Committee on Foreign Relations, AIM International Business Council, and The Japan Society of Boston, and she is a member of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. She holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Michigan, and a B.A. in East Asian Studies from Princeton University.