USC And China In The News, July and August 2017

 

An article highlighted the reopening of USC’s Pacific Asia Museum on December 8, 2017. The museum has been closed for a seismic retrofit of its 1924 facility. The museum design was inspired by Qing dynasty models. The first exhibition in the newly reopened museum is “Winds from Fusang: Mexico and China in the Twentieth Century.”

 

 

 

USC political scientist and China film specialist Stanley Rosen was interviewed for an article about Beijing’s new propaganda efforts. He said, “If you ask young Chinese what term they most closely associate with the US, the majority of them will say ‘Hollywood.’ The Communist Party is trying to compete with what American is selling in terms of popular culture.”

 

 

Brian Peck, of the USC Gould School of Law, was interviewed about the politics and law behind the Trump administration’s plan to investigate Chinese policies on intellectual property. 

 

 

While the Chinese belt and road initiative is focused on infrastructure and economic development, Clayton Dube of the USC U.S.-China Institute, said that it can also help China accumulate soft power. He said, "Once the railways are built into Southeast Asia, the tunnels through the mountains in Laos, the extension of railways into Central Asia?once that begins, it will help those countries with their own economic development and if China is seen as an important partner in that, that will definitely help its soft power, it will make [China] more attractive." In addition, Dube noted that many were impressed by Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s speech at the World Economic Forum which called for more trade and connectivity across borders. Dube noted that in the recent Portland/USC Center on Public Diplomacy assessment, China’s soft power ranking had improved. 

 

 

An article on a Zhejiang company, Xunshi whose 3D medical device printing operation in Los Angeles is doing well, noted that the company works with USC. 

 

 

USC political scientist and Chinese film specialist Stanley Rosen was quoted in an article about Wolf Warrior 2. He said, “There are a number of things that don’t really fit into what you would expect from a straight patriotic film. It’s a very individualist personal quest, which is much more of a Hollywood thing. They’re definitely downplaying the Communist Party in favor of patriotism and defending Chinese people and Chinese interests all over the world.”

 

 

Joshua Goldstein, USC historian and specialist on recycling, was quoted. Goldstein noted that while insisting that foreign recycling materials be cleaner will help improve the negative impact of the recycling, most of China's recycled plastics are from China. “This is not really where the problem lies," he said about the new rules.

 

 

Stanley Rosen, USC political scientist, was quoted in an article about tensions between the U.S. government and China over films. Rosen said, “The last thing Hollywood wants to do is to offend China, particularly at this time.”

 

 

An article reported on the Global Supply Chain Summit hosted at USC. China loomed large in the discussion because of its manufacturing prowess and market. 

 

 

An article reported on the Chinese series “Study Abroad Love” being filmed at USC. 

 

 

Stanley Rosen, USC political scientist and Chinese film specialist, was quoted in an article about Hollywood-China deals. He said, “Hollywood should be worried because now we are seeing pressure [to crack down on deals] from both ends. Access to the Chinese market will continue, but investment from China in the U.S. entertainment industry will be toned down considerably.”

 

 

The USC U.S.-China Institute’s Clayton Dube was interviewed for a story on the relationship between China and North Korea and what that may mean for resolution of the latest nuclear standoff. 

 

 

USC U.S.-China Institute senior fellow Mike Chinoy was interviewed about tensions between North Korea and the United States. He stressed that there’s a danger that the North Korean leadership might miscalculate American intentions and use force. PBS noted that Chinoy has visited North Korea seventeen times.

 

 

Clayton Dube of the USC U.S.-China Institute was interviewed regarding Chinese attitudes towards the statements from North Korean and United States leaders. Dube was also interviewed by the NBC Los Angeles affiliate about the situation.  

 

 

 

USC political scientist Stanley Rosen was interviewed about problems Wanda and its chairman Wang Jianlin are having. Rosen said, “China is trying to present a benign image of a peaceful rise, but Wang Jianlin is making China seem aggressive and that China’s rise will come at the expense of the U.S., at least in terms of cultural expansion. So the push into Hollywood has been put on hold, too much push-back within China and in the U.S.”

 

 

Comments at a forum on US-China trade by the USC U.S.-China Institute's Clayton Dube were highlighted. Dube spoke at the forum on July 21. Dube noted that in recent years, the US had made two "unforced errors" by not participating in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (an Obama decision) and by withdrawing from the TransPacific Partnership (a Trump decision). Dube noted that US-China trade tensions had risen as Pres. Trump saw that China was not "solving" the North Korea problem.  

 

 

Clayton Dube of the USC U.S.-China Institute was interviewed about the White House's strategies of trying to get Beijing to help it address the threat posed by North Korea's nuclear weapons development efforts. 

 

 

 

 

USC political scientist Stanley Rosen was quoted about the success of the Indian film Dangal in China. 

 

 

The USC Center on Public Diplomacy released the annual Soft Power 30 Index, based on research carried out by London-based Portland, a consultancy. “The story of this year’s Soft Power 30 index and the wider report is the shifting dynamic between the US and China,” said Jonathan McClory, an analyst at Portland and the study’s author. “Where we see the traditional role of US global leadership in retreat, China is clearly stepping in to drive the global agenda forward.” The US dropped from first place in the ranking to third. China advanced from number 28 to number 25. 

 

 

 

Stanley Rosen, USC political scientist, was interviewed about how China will bring in Hollywood films if it needs to get people into seats. The late summer blackout on foreign films could give way if the Chinese leaders think it necessary. He said, “Everything can be changed as the political needs dictate.” Rosen noted that studios will probably be given a longer time to promote films. 

 

 

USC political scientist Stanley Rosen was quoted in a story about Wanda’s asset consolidation. He said, “Wang has long relied, to an important extent, on other people’s money, and with the Chinese government … more and more concerned about China’s debt levels being unsustainable, this decision brings Wang back in line with current government thinking, as well as making a lot of sense for his company’s future development.”

 

 

Stanley Rosen, USC political scientist, was quoted in an article about the crackdown in China on live streaming services. He said, "the Chinese government has been doing a whole series of things leading up to this [ban]...you have them closing down celebrity gossip sites, foreigners not being able to livestream, the removal of American TV shows [on video streaming sites]. You have the government cracking down, one sector after another, and [livestreaming] was one of the loopholes."

 

 

The USC U.S.-China Institute’s Clayton Dube was interviewed for a story about Dalian Wanda’s sale of over $9 billion in assets. Dube observed that China wants companies to make strategic acquisitions in developed countries and to be contributing to building Xi Jinping’s “one belt and one road” initiative into Southeast and Central Asia. “My guess is that real estate in the U.S. is not seen as fitting that bill. Getting a studio, theaters — that might be seen as a soft power acquisition and thus useful, but an office/condo tower in Beverly Hills isn’t.”

 

 

A story about the underrepresentation of Asians in Hollywood cited a report from the USC Media, Diversity and Social Change Initiative. The story noted that while Chinese investment and the size of the Chinese film market had caused studios to cast more Chinese, that not all roles were substantive. Edward Hong said, “The Chinese actors say: ‘We are just flower vases. We don’t speak; we just stand there and look pretty.’ ” 

 

 

USC alum Tiantian Qiu’s Monterey Park restaurant Hip Hot was featured in a review. Qiu is from Chengdu, Sichuan. She said, “I love restaurants like Chengdu Taste, but the food is very traditional. Chengdu the city changes so much every year. I think in a way, what I do may fit into what Chengdu is today.’’

 

 

Clayton Dube of the USC U.S.-China Institute was interviewed for “Film Week,” discussing the relative success of foreign films in China’s film market. 

 

 

An article on the influence China and Russia have on North Korea included comments by Clayton Dube of the USC U.S.-China Institute. Dube noted that while China is North Korea’s main export market and its source for advanced equipment, it has little interest in doing anything that would threaten the survival of the Kim regime. Dube said, "China is North Korea's main trading partner, its only formal ally and its main facilitator in terms of banking and other services." China used to see benefit in North Korea causing South Korea and Japan to worry, but China now sees the instability caused by North Korea as a problem. This is why China has supported sanctions and supposedly slowed imports of coal from North Korea. China’s ending of imports, though, coincides with declining demand in China as its coal consumption is dropping. 

 

 

Stanley Rosen, USC political scientist, was quoted for an article about Wang Jianlin and Wanda, the company he heads. Rosen said, “His brand has taken a hit. He’s had problems in both China and the U.S.” He noted that Wanda’s Qingdao efforts may not attract many Hollywood filmmakers. 

 

 

 

The USC U.S.-China Institute’s Clayton Dube was interviewed about the ending of Chinese language news broadcasts and other programming at KSCI LA18. Dube noted that unlike other Chinese language broadcasters which mainly provide news from China and Taiwan, LA18 was focused on events and trends in our area. It aimed to help viewers understand and better participate in the community. Dube said LA18 was a valuable independent news voice that developed a devoted following. 

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