US-China Relations After the 2016 Elections: Trump, Congress, and the Issues
Sichuan University | April 20-21, 2017
USCET held its 14th Annual American Studies Network (ASN) Conference in Chengdu hosted by Sichuan University. The theme of the conference was US-China Relations after the 2016 Elections: Trump, Congress, and the Issues. This conference welcomed more than 70 scholars at this event. Over 30 graduate students participated in the Graduate Student Forum Competition, which showcased the research of future generation of scholars in American Studies in China. The USCET speakers shared their expert insights on the Trump phenomenon; race, gender and ethnicity in US politics; checks and balances in the US government; and the impact of the elections and the new administration on US-China relations.
The Conference received over 60 paper submissions that were rich in their variety and content. The research areas covered issues relating to US-China relations, US politics and foreign policy, the media, economics, ethnicity and sociology, and culture. The range of topics explored in the conference papers included the changing American electorate, racism and xenophobia in the US, and media’s role in the elections. Some scholars also compared Obama and Trump’s approaches to foreign policy, especially their views on how to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue and the impact of their approaches to US-China relations.
Keynote and Panels
The two keynote speeches and two keynote panels set the scene for the conference. They were informative, illuminating and sparked engaging conversation throughout the day and half event. Professor James Thurber, Distinguished Professor of Government at American University, in his lecture on Trump Phenomenon: Decoding American Politics Today, emphasized the unusualness of the 2016 elections. Americans elected the most unconventional president ever, someone who has never served in government or the military. Trump received overwhelming support from the white blue-collar Americans, who have traditionally been the base for the Democratic Party. Further, social media played a far greater role in this election than ever before. Trump benefited greatly from earned media, and payed far less for advertisement than his opponents. Thurber also talked about the use of social media and its integral role in influencing the outcome of the elections. And finally, Thurber spoke about the Trump Administration’s governing in its early days. He highlighted the fact that Trump do not have a full grasp of the separation of powers in US government, which had contributed to Trump’s realization of the “complexity of issues.”
Professor Xiaolu Wang, Chair of Academic Committee of American Studies Center at Sichuan University, provided a historical perspective of US-China relations through revisiting American influence in the 19th century and early 20th century China. Wang argued that the first American missionaries in China, who arrived in the mid-early 19th century and whose offspring often became leading specialists on China, dominated American understanding of China even after the establishment of the People’s Republic. The most famous of whom was Pearl S. Buck. Further, Wang spoke of the Boxer indemnities, and how influential Chinese were instrumental in the establishment of Tsinghua University. The Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program initiated a long history of cultural and educational exchange between China and the US. Fu Yun Chang, Ambassador Julia Chang Bloch’s father, was a Boxer Indemnity Scholarship graduate of Tsinghua University in Beijing. Through the understanding of the historical context, Wang hoped lessons from the past could inform relationship building between the two countries today.
Race, gender and ethnicity in US politics Panel – Representative Steven Horsford, Professor Sonya Horsford of Columbia University and Helen Zia provided a variety of perspectives and insights into how race, gender, and ethnicity have influenced contemporary US politics. Steven Horsford spoke of the changing demographics of the American electorate, and commented on the growing percentage of voters of color and how that will change the political landscape in future elections. He also dissected the escalating tensions along racial and economic lines, and how these tensions have played out in protests and in the voting booth. Professor Sonya Horsford provided examples of the divide in American society through discussion of education policy. She spoke of the underachievement of black and Latino students, and that the widening economic divide provided little mobility for children at the bottom of the economic spectrum. Professor Horsford also spoke of the racism and racial tensions as a backlash to the Obama presidency. Helen Zia, author and activist, spoke about how Asian-Americans voted and what their concerns were during the elections. Zia provided a historical perspective of how the Asian American communities were marginalized politically, but with increasing coalition building within the community, she is optimistic for the future.
Checks and Balances: Limits of the Presidency Panel – Claudia Thurber, former Counsel for Occupational Health Standards at the Department of Labor’s Office of the Solicitor, spoke about the rivalry for political power in American democracy and the complexity of deregulation. She explained that the executive branch is accountable to the legislative and judicial branches. The legislative branch passes laws, and it is up to the administrative agencies to interpret the laws and define the terms and disseminate related rules and regulations. In order to overturn legislation, Thurber explained, the process is complicated and expensive, and it involves not only the agencies and Congress, it also requires the actions in the courts. Rules that are well-established are difficult to repeal. While new rules can be more easily repealed, the repeal can be challenged in court. The role of the judiciary, the third branch of the government, should not be underestimated. Candidate Trump ran against big government and regulations. Thurber predicted that President Trump will have a difficult time fulfilling his promise given the complexity of deregulation. She further commented that his Executive Orders, though they have been plentiful, may not result in significant change to policy. Thurber cited the example of Trump’s Executive Order Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States or commonly known as the Travel Ban. Legal challenges to the order were brought almost immediately after its issuance. From January 28 to January 31, 2017, almost 50 cases were filed in federal courts. The courts, in turn, granted temporary relief, including a nationwide temporary restraining order that bared the enforcement of major parts of the executive order.
Graduate Student Forum
The ASN has encouraged graduate students to participate in the annual conference through Graduate Student Forum Competitions since 2008, the fifth ASN Conference, also held at Sichuan University. This year, the ASN has received more graduate student papers than ever before, and all the submissions deserve recognition. Only those who have submitted full papers were qualified for the Competition. In this special Concurrent Session, the conference dedicated time for each competition applicant and graduate student abstract to present their work and engage in discussion with their peers. The sessions were chaired by professors in American Studies. Through two rounds of selections by Sichuan University, ASN and USCET, the top 10 Graduate Student Forum Competition winners were announced, and awards were presented at the end of the conference.
The graduate student forum was the largest in ASN history, with a total of 30 papers that entered into the competition, and judges selected the top 10 papers that reflected the increasing sophistication of Chinese scholarship on the US. The winning graduate student papers covered a wide range of topics, including such a study of African-American leadership and the impact of racial tensions on the outcomes of the 2016 elections, analysis of Trump’s support amongst Chinese-Americans, and questioning whether the electorate is truly diverse. The winning papers also looked at social issues such as an examination into the effectiveness of polls and its accuracy in reflecting public opinion, a study of Millennial’s support for Bernie Sanders, American populism and Trump’s electorate success, and examination into the partisan shift of the white blue collar workers in the 2016 election.
2016年选举之后的中美关系：特朗普、国会和问题
2017美国研究联络会会议
四川大学
2017年4月20-21日，成都
USCET在成都四川大学举办了第十四届美国研究联络会会议。本次会议的主题是“2016年选举之后的中美关系：特朗普、国会与问题”。这次会议有超过70名学者参加。超过30名研究生参与了研究生论坛竞赛，展示了未来一代学者在中国的进行的美国研究。USCET的发言人从专业视角出发分享了他们对于特朗普现象的看法：美国政治中的种族与性别；美国政府内部的制约与平衡以及选举与新政府对中美关系的影响。
会议收到了超过60份论文，内容丰富多彩。研究范围包括中美关系、美国政治与外交政策、媒体、经济、种族与社会学以及文化。会议论文探讨的话题范围包括不断变化的美国选民、美国的种族主义和仇外心理，以及媒体在选举中的作用。一些学者还比较了奥巴马和特朗普在外交政策上的做法，特别是他们对如何解决朝鲜核问题的看法，以及他们对待中美关系的方式的影响。
主题
会议安排了两个主题演讲和两个主题小组。他们信息量丰富，富有启发性，在一天半的活动中引发了引人入胜的对话。美利坚大学政府学杰出教授James Thurber在他的演讲“特朗普现象：解密今天的美国政治”中强调了2016年大选的不同寻常。美国选出了有史以来最非传统的一位总统，一个从未在政府或军队服役的人。特朗普得到了来自蓝领白人的压倒性支持，而他们之前一直是民主党的基础。此外，社交媒体这次选举中发挥的作用比以往任何时候都要大。特朗普从媒体中获益良多，而且他花在媒体上的钱远比他的对手要少。Thurber还谈到了社交媒体的使用及其在影响选举结果方面的整体作用。最后Thurber提到了特朗普政府的早期执政。他认为特朗普没有充分把握美国政府的权利分立，这可能会让他把问题变得复杂化。
四川大学美国研究协会教授王晓路通过对美国在19世纪和20世纪初的影响的回顾，为美中关系提供了一个历史视角。王认为，第一批来到中国的美国传教士，他们在19世纪中叶到达中国，他们的后代也成为中国问题的顶尖专家，甚至在中华人民共和国成立后，仍然主导着美国人对中国的理解。其中最著名的是赛珍珠。此外，王还谈到了庚子赔款（the Boxer indemnities），以及中国人在清华大学的建立中起到了多大的作用。庚子赔款奖学金项目开创了中美文化教育交流的悠久历史。张福运大使是张之香（Julia Chang Bloch）大使的父亲，就曾是北京清华大学庚子赔款奖学金毕业生。通过对历史背景的理解，王希望过去的经验可以为今天的两国关系建设提供借鉴。
美国政治中的民族、性别和种族主题研讨 – 众议员Steven Horsford，哥伦比亚大学教授Sonya Horsford和Helen Zia对民族、性别和种族如何影响当代美国政治提出了各种观点和见解。Steven Horsford谈到了美国选民人口的变化，并评论了有色人种选民的比例不断上升，以及这将如何改变未来选举的政治格局。他还分析了沿着种族和经济之间矛盾不断升级的紧张关系，以及这些紧张关系如何在抗议活动和投票间中表现出来。Sonya Horsford教授通过讨论教育政策提供了美国社会分化的例子。她谈到黑人和拉丁裔学生的成绩不佳，以及日益扩大的经济差距几乎没有为处于经济最底层的儿童提供流动性。Horsford教授还谈到了种族主义和种族之间的紧张关系，认为这是对奥巴马总统任期的反弹。作家、活动家Helen Zia谈到了亚裔美国人如何投票，以及他们在选举期间的担忧。Zia提供了一个亚裔美国人群体在政治上被边缘化的历史视角，但是随着社区内部联合力量的增加，她对未来感到乐观。
制约与平衡-总统的限制主题研讨 – Claudia Thurber曾是美国劳工部标准健康办公室的律师，她谈论了美国民主政治中对政治权力的争夺以及放松管制的复杂性。她解释说行政部门对立法和司法部门负责。立法部门通过法律，由行政机关解释法律、规定条款、以及传播相关的规章制度。为了推翻立法，这个程序是复杂且昂贵的。这不仅仅涉及到相关机构和国会，还需要在法庭上采取行动。已经确立的规则很难被废除。虽然新规定可以更加容易的被废除，但这会在法庭上受到挑战。作为政府的第三个部门，司法机关的作用不应该被低估。特朗普的竞选对手正是这个庞大的政府和监管机构。Thurber预测，鉴于放松管制的复杂性，特朗普总统可能很难实现他的承诺。她还说，特朗普的行政命令虽然很多，但可能不会对政策产生重大变化。她举了一个特朗普的行政命令为例子，是关于保护国家不让外国恐怖分子进入美国的行政命令，也称为旅行禁令。该命令发布后，几乎立即引发了法律上的质疑。从2017年1月28日到1月31日，联邦法院受理了近50起案件。反过来，法院也给予了临时的救济，包括在全国范围内颁布的临时禁制令，强制执行行政命令的主要部分。
研究生论坛
自2008年第五届美国研究联络会在四川大学举行以来，大会就一直鼓励研究生通过研究生论坛竞赛参与年度会议。今年，美国研究联合会收到的研究生论文比以往任何时候都多，所有提交的论文都值得通过，但只有那些提交完整论文的人才有资格参加比赛。在这个特别的同时段举行的会议上，每个竞赛的申请人和研究生都有专门的时间来介绍他们的论文主题并与他们的同伴们进行讨论。会议由美国研究学教授主持。通过四川大学、美国研究联络会委员会和USCET的两轮选拔，宣布了前10名研究生论坛比赛优胜者，并在会议结束时颁发奖项。
此次研究生论坛是美国研究联络会历史上规模最大的一次，共有30篇论文参加了这次竞赛，评委们选出了10篇最能够反映中国在美留学水平不断提高的十大论文。获奖的研究生论文涵盖了广泛的主题，包括对非裔美国人领导力的研究、种族紧张对2016年大选结果的影响、对特朗普在华裔美国人中的支持的分析，以及对选民是否真正多元化的质疑。获奖论文还研究了社会问题如民意调查的有效性和它的准确性，研究了千禧一代对Bernie Sanders的支持，美国民粹主义和特朗普的选民的成功，以及对2016年大选中白人蓝领工人的党派转移的调查。