USC And China In The News, July and August, 2019

Click here for earlier media notes involving USC faculty, staff and students and China.

August 31, 2019: Vice

An article about sex education camps in China cited an interview from the USC U.S.-China Institute's US-China Today. Nicole Hsu interviewed Fang Gang about domestic violence in China.

August 28, 2019: Marketplace

For a story on slowing luxury goods sales, the USC U.S.-China Institute’s Clayton Dube discussed why fewer Chinese tourists were coming to the U.S. He noted the slowdown in the Chinese economy discouraging some travel and the warnings from the Chinese state that the U.S. is dangerous and that some visitors may undergo official interrogation. 

August 27, 2019: USA Today

Nick Vyas, director of the USC Center for Global Supply Chain Management, was interviewed about the impact of the trade war on California. He noted that China was targeting specific sectors with its retaliatory tariffs, “What you see here is a chess game being played.”

August 27, 2019: Fortune

An article quoted Greg Autry of the USC Marshall School of Business. Autry co-authored Death by China with his UC Irvine advisor Peter Navarro. Navarro is now Pres. Trump’s Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy. Autry said, “The short term solution is to use tariffs to manage China’s behavior, because it’s the one tool the executive has without waiting for Congress and can be used swiftly and pulled back. So when—not if—China cheats, you whack them again, and when they cheat less, you back off.”

August 23, 2019: Deadline

Stanley Rosen, USC political scientist, was quoted in an article about the trade war. He said, that the real danger and “something Trump would love to see, is a boycott in China of American products, demonstrations in China in front of American companies also ‘ordering’ them to leave.”

August 22, 2019: Foreign Policy

Greg Autry of the USC Marshall School of Business published an opinion piece on “the second space race.” He wrote, “China is executing a winning strategy… they will acquire trillion-dollar revenues as well as the deep capabilities that come from continuous operational experience in space. This will deliver space dominance and global hegemony to China’s authoritarian rulers.”

August 21, 2019: World Journal 世界日报

USC’s Stanley Rosen and Clayton Dube were among those interviewed for a story about the high level of education among Hong Kong demonstrators. Those demonstrators began by opposing a law to standardize extradition procedures for people charged with crimes in mainland China or Taiwan. Rosen said the protests showed that Hong Kong’s best and brightest believe that the situation is deteriorating in Hong Kong and that their prospects are declining. Dube noted that this is the best educated generation ever and that Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and the US are all counting on millennials. But Hong Kong’s millennials have rising expectations and feel their opportunities are diminishing and that competition is increasing. They are also facing a tight housing market. Median house prices in Hong Kong are more than twice as expensive, relative to median household incomes, as they are in Los Angeles. 

August 20, 2019: The Hollywood Reporter

USC political scientist Stanley Rosen was interviewed for a story about possible boycotts of the new Disney film Mulan. Rosen said, "Disney can't support the protesters because their business in China is too important, but they obviously can't be seen as pandering too much to China either, because that could backfire as well, depending on how the situation in Hong Kong unfolds."

August 19, 2019: The New Yorker

A story about College Daily, a Chinese publication with 30 staffers in Beijing and fifteen in New York, has many readers in the U.S., especially among Chinese college students noted that site was launched after the murders of two USC students from China. 

August 16, 2019: South China Morning Post

The USC U.S.-China Institute's Clayton Dube was interviewed on how effective the Chinese government's investment in international media has been in the context of the demonstrations in Hong Kong. Dube noted that it takes time to build trust with a news audience and that in the West Chinese media has had little impact. He said, that "in [the Chinese government's] dream scenario, people turn to it when they hear that something is happening somewhere within the Chinese universe.”

August 15, 2019: Washington Post

Clayton Dube of the USC U.S.-China Institute was quoted in a story about how Chinese state media is presenting the demonstrations to its mainland audience. Dube said, "What many people on the mainland feel is what the government wants them to feel.... That these people who are protesting are young, immature, ill-educated, poorly informed and not appreciative of all that China has accomplished and all that China is today." He noted that, "Some aspects of the protests, like the complaints about gross inequality, could resonate on the mainland if people were aware of them. [But] They're not. The government has worked very hard to limit the flow of that part of the story." Beyond that Dube noted that "by playing up the violence or acts of vandalism, the Communist Party is able to present itself as 'the bulwark against disorder.'"

August 14, 2019: Washington Post

Clayton Dube of the USC U.S.-China Institute was interviewed for a story on options available to the Chinese government to deal with unrest in Hong Kong. Dube felt that Beijing was unlikely to use troops or police from outside Hong Kong to quell the demonstrations. He suggested the central government would be patient and let Hong Kong’s government handle things, but he noted, “It doesn’t mean that the issues go away and it doesn’t mean that the hostility, the anger and the frustration are dissipated. [They may continue to build.] In fact, that’s one reason why the crowds are even bigger in 2019 than they were in 2014.”

August 14, 2019: South China Morning Post

The USC U.S.-China Institute’s Clayton Dube was interviewed about the possible focus and results of a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi. Dube noted that neither government released any substantive comment before or after the meeting and didn’t include the usual diplomatic pleasantries in describing the talks. He said, “The fact that the exchange of views was not characterised by either side as useful or constructive suggests each simply made sure the other understood their point of view.”

August 10, 2019: San Francisco Chronicle

The USC U.S.-China Institute's Clayton Dube was quoted in an article about the how the US-China trade war is affecting California merchants. He noted that if the Trump administration imposes 10% tariffs on another $300 billion in imports, very few goods, including consumer products will not be affected. “Ultimately, the consumers pay the price,” he said. 

August 9, 2019: Los Angeles Times

The worries of Bughra Arkin, a former USC student, were featured in an article. Arkin owns Dolan's Uyghur Cuisine in Alhambra and has been unable to reach his father in Xinjiang, in northwest China. Arkin's father is among the many Muslims who have been detained. Arkin hasn't spoken to him in nine months.  

August 7, 2019: LA Review of Books

The work of Xuan (Juliana) Wang, a USC alum, was featured in an essay. In Home Remedies, Wang’s “characters are millennials and Chinese or Chinese Americans, but their lives, like Chekhov’s characters, are ordinary lives set in bold relief against the ordinary. The extraordinary appears and is magically absorbed into the familiar, like a dazzling new coat slipped on over old clothes.” In one story, “[t]he social politics of China are on view below the surface, where we find that same sex love remains unwelcome and hetero family life is paramount.”

July 19, 2019: Voice of America

Stanley Rosen and Clayton Dube were quoted in a story about Chinese film censorship and the success of Hollywood films in China. Rosen noted that releasing Spider-Man: Far from Home did not pose any ideological challenge for the Chinese censors. Dube contradicted a Chinese commentator who argued that China’s censors welcomed Hollywood films into the country because Hollywood opposes U.S. President Trump. Dube said that China permitted Hollywood blockbusters in because they wanted to fill theaters, something that is increasingly difficult, in part because several prominent Chinese films have not been approved for release because they somehow run afoul of the censors. With the economy slowing, the Chinese state is eager to stimulate consumption and Hollywood blockbusters are popular.

July 19, 2019: Inter Press Service

USC political scientist Stanley Rosen was interviewed about China's relationship with Africa. He said, “In the earlier period under Mao, it was because of the number of countries in Africa that had votes at the United Nations and the fact that China was promoting revolutionary movements, so it’s very political. Shortly after the reforms began in China in 1979, Africa became more important economically.”

July 16, 2019: Overseas Chinese Network 中国华侨网

An article highlighting Republican Party outreach to Asian and Pacific Islander Americans noted that USC alumna Marina Tse 张曼君was co-directing the effort. Tse earned graduate degrees at USC and previously served as a Senior Advisor in the U.S. Department of Transportation during the Trump Administration and as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Education during the George W. Bush administration.

July 12, 2019: New York Times

The USC U.S.-China Institute's Clayton Dube was quoted in a story about the demise of investigative journalism in China. He said, “Rather than seeing investigative journalism as an aid to remedying social ills and improving governance, Xi’s party-state sees it as a threat to social stability.”

July 11, 2019: BBC

Stanley Rosen, USC political scientist, was quoted in an article about Disny's live action film Mulan. He said, "Chinese audiences are clearly more sophisticated now so if Disney wants to win them back, they have to nail the cultural aspects of Mulan."

July 10, 2019: Digital Music News

An article profiled USC graduate Yurun Wu who has scored successful films such as Crazy Rich Asians and ads and video game tournaments.

July 4, 2019: Washington Times

An article discussing whether or not the number of students from China in US schools might decline noted that USC has the second largest contingent of such students. USC Dean of Admissions Tim Brunold said that while USC would not suffer economically from a drop in students from China, the loss of diversity would be felt on campus.

July 3, 2019: KCRW

An interview with the USC US-China Institute's Clayton Dube focused on the recent drop in Chinese tourism to the US and why Los Angeles has been able to defy that trend. Dube credited the overall drop to a slowing Chinese economy and LA's continuing draw to its unique pull thanks to its location and prominence in films such as La La Land.