Event

Former President Jimmy Carter will join audiences in 70 locations nationwide for a live “town hall” meeting on the U.S.-China relationship.

Some of the world’s most critical issues, including economics, climate change, security and trade, will require the United States and China—the two largest economies, energy users and greenhouse gas emitters—to cooperate to achieve lasting global solutions. To help Americans understand the dynamic U.S.-China relationship and answer questions on issues that touch their daily lives, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations in collaboration with The Carter Center is conducting the eighth annual CHINA Town Hall: Local Connections, National Reflections program at more than 70 locations nationwide featuring a live webcast and Q&A with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter on October 16, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. EDT. President Carter’s discussion and responses to questions submitted by the nationwide audience will be moderated by National Committee President Stephen Orlins. In addition to the national portion of the program, each venue will have a prominent China specialist on site to address topics of interest to the local community, including economics and trade, energy and the environment, security and other issues.  

This year, Ira Belkin (Executive Director of the U.S.-Asia Law Institute, NYU Law), will be our local on-site speaker. Ira Belkin is the Executive Director of the U.S.-Asia Law Institute. Prior to joining the Institute in September 2012, Belkin served as a program officer at the Ford Foundation in Beijing, where he worked on law and rights issues. His grant-making supported Chinese institutions working to build the Chinese legal system, to strengthen the rule of law and to enhance the protection of citizens’ rights, especially the rights of vulnerable groups. Prior to joining the foundation in 2007, Belkin combined a career as an American lawyer and federal prosecutor with a deep interest in China, and spent seven years working to promote the rule of law in China.

An interactive list of program locations nationwide will be available at: www.ncuscr.org/cth

Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.) was the 39th President of the United States, serving from 1977 to 1981. Under Carter’s leadership, on January 1, 1979, the United States established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China. In 1982, he became University Distinguished Professor at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and founded The Carter Center, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that addresses national and international issues of public policy. Since leaving office, President Carter has visited China 12 times, including most recently in September 2014.