Will China Be the Next Tech Superpower? Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates in NYC and Online February 25

President Xi Jinping has made it clear: When it comes to big data, advanced weaponry, and other innovations in tech and AI, China has plans to surpass the United States as the world’s next techonomic superpower. But are China’s goals outpacing its capacity? On Monday, February 25, acclaimed debate series Intelligence Squared U.S. will address a range of questions on this subject in a live debate about "The Techonomic Cold War With China."

 

The fourth installment in Intelligence Squared U.S.'s new “Unresolved” series, this debate brings together five foreign policy luminaries who will shift sides and partners as they debate four separate motions: 

1. Will the next Silicon Valley be in China? 

2. Will the U.S. and China both lose the trade war? 

3. Is the Belt and Road Initiative a trillion-dollar blunder?

 

Debaters will be Ian Bremmer (Founder of Eurasia Group), Michèle Flournoy (Fmr. U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy), Yasheng Huang (MIT Professor), Parag Khanna (Founder of FutureMap), and Susan Thornton (Fmr. Assistant Secretary of State). See more about the debaters' credentials below.

 

The debate will be held at NYC's Peter Norton Symphony Space and stream live online, then air soon after as part of the syndicated public radio show and podcast "Intelligence Squared U.S." On February 25, online viewers can tune in at IQ2US's website: https://www.intelligencesquaredus.org

 

WHAT: Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates "Unresolved: The Techonomic Cold War with China"

WHEN: Monday, February 25 / 7:00-9:00 PM EDT

WHERE: Peter Norton Symphony Space / 2537 Broadway / New York, NY

TICKETS: $40 ($12 for students w/ ID). To purchase, visit http://www.intelligencesquaredus.org/

 

 

DEBATERS

 

* Ian Bremmer: Founder and President, Eurasia Group

Ian Bremmer is the president and founder of Eurasia Group, the leading global political risk research and consulting firm, and president of GZERO Media. He is the foreign affairs columnist and editor-at-large at Time magazine, where he writes about China, U.S. foreign policy, and geopolitics. Dubbed a “rising guru” in the field of political risk by the Economist, he is the author of the New York Times best-seller, “Us vs. Them: The Failure of Globalism,” which explores the consequences of globalism.

 

* Michèle Flournoy: Co-Founder & Managing Partner, WestExec & Fmr. U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy 

Michèle Flournoy is the co-founder and managing partner of WestExec, a strategic advisory firm offering unique geopolitical expertise, and the co-founder and former CEO of the Center for a New American Security. Previously, she served as the undersecretary of defense for policy under President Obama. She was a Pentagon policy chief and the principal adviser to the Secretary of Defense in the formulation of national security and defense policy, oversight of military plans and operations, and in National Security Council deliberations. Flournoy serves on the CNAS board of directors.

 

* Yasheng Huang: Professor, MIT & Author, "Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics"

Yasheng Huang is a professor of political economy and international management at MIT, where he holds the International Program Professorship in Chinese Economy and Business in the Sloan School of Management. He is the author of several books in English and Chinese, including “Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics," which was named an Economist book of the year. Huang also holds special professorship appointments at Fudan University and Hunan University and fellowships at Tsinghua University and the World Economic Forum. He has served as a consultant to the World Bank and OECD.

 

* Parag Khanna: Founder & Managing Partner, FutureMap 

Parag Khanna is a leading global strategy adviser and the founder and managing partner of FutureMap, a data and scenario-based strategic advisory firm. A best-selling author, his most recent book is “The Future is Asian: Commerce, Conflict & Culture in the 21st Century.” Khanna was previously a senior research fellow in the Centre on Asia and Globalisation at the National University of Singapore. He has been a fellow at the Brookings Institution and New America, an adviser to the U.S. National Intelligence Council’s Global Trends 2030 program, and a senior geopolitical adviser to U.S. Special Operations Forces.

 

* Susan Thornton: Senior Fellow, Yale University Paul Tsai China Center & Fmr. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs 

Susan Thornton is a distinguished senior diplomat with extensive experience in Eurasia and East Asia and is currently a senior fellow and research scholar at the Yale University Paul Tsai China Center. Until July 2018, she was acting assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the Department of State under President Trump, where she led East Asia policymaking. Thornton was the architect of the diplomatic pressure campaign on the North Korean regime, structured the administration’s initial approach to China, and developed the administration’s trademark Indo-Pacific Strategy.

 

 

ABOUT INTELLIGENCE SQUARED U.S. DEBATES (IQ2US)

A non-partisan, non-profit organization, Intelligence Squared U.S. was founded in 2006 to address a fundamental problem in America: the extreme polarization of our nation and our politics. Their mission is to restore critical thinking, facts, reason, and civility to American public discourse. The award-winning debate series reaches over 30 million American households through multi-platform distribution, including radio, television, live streaming, podcasts, interactive digital content, and on-demand apps on Roku and Apple TV. With over 150 debates and counting, Intelligence Squared U.S. has encouraged the public to "think twice" on a wide range of provocative topics. Author and ABC News correspondent John Donvan has moderated IQ2US since 2008.