Abstract

The election of Donald Trump as US president has upended much of the global economic and political order as states seek to grapple with Trump’s economic and foreign policy. Specifically, US-China relations remain fraught with tensions notwithstanding attempts by both countries to find a new modus vivendi in their political ties. In this lecture, Professor Xiang will argue that under Trump, the US has been less ideologically minded and is now using “common sense” to respond to the China’s challenge. Pragmatism, not ideology, now characterises US relations with the rest of the world. In the short term, Trump presents disruption and uncertainty, but in the long term, Trump may turn out to be a real chance for US and China to settle not only economic disputes but also geopolitical issues, especially the Taiwan question.

About the Speaker

Xiang Lanxin is currently Ngee Ann Kongsi Professor of International Relations at RSIS. He is also Professor Emeritus at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID), Geneva, Zijiang Chair of International History at East China Normal University, Shanghai, Distinguished Fellow at the Henry Stimson Center in Washington, DC, and Senior Advisor, Club of Three in London.

He was Director of the Institute of Security Policy (ISP), China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation, Shanghai. He is organiser of many track-2 dialogues between China and US, China and EU, China and Russia.

Professor Xiang was a Visiting Fellow at the Belfer Center, Kennedy School, Harvard University. He held the prestigious Henry A. Kissinger Chair of Foreign Policy and International Affairs at the Library of Congress, USA. He also held distinguished academic chairs at Fudan University, East China Normal University and Foreign Affairs University in China.  He is a member of the Academic Council, Valdai Discussing Club in Sochi, Russia, and a Contributing Editor, Survival, journal of International Institute of Strategic Studies, London. A graduate from Fudan University, he holds MA and PhD in European Studies and International Relations from Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University.

His research interests are:

• Foreign Policies of Major Powers, especially US-China, Russia-China and EU-China Relations
• Asian Security System
• Political Philosophy, Theory of Political Legitimacy
• Modern China and Communist Military History

He has published four books in English and six books in Chinese. His latest book, The Quest for Legitimacy in Chinese Politics: A New Interpretation, is published in London, 2021.