Join Global Ties Arizona and Thunderbird School of Global Management for the annual community discussion event underscoring the importance of U.S.-China relations.

Tuesday, April 30th | 4:00-7:30 pm

at Thunderbird School of Global Management

Discussion Forum | 4:00 - 6:00 pm at the Global Forum (1st Floor)

Networking Reception | 6:00 - 7:30 pm at the Thunderbird Pub (5th Floor)

Register

Forum Only: FREE
Forum + Networking Reception: $10 per person

The National Conversation, facilitated by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, will feature Dr. Kurt Campbell, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of State.

Moderated by Dr. Doug Guthrie of Thunderbird School of Global Management, this discussion forum brings together thought leaders, experts, and the community for insightful discussions on the vital relationship between the United States and China.

Featured Panelists include:

Dr. Craig Calhoun, Sociologist & Theorist, Arizona State University

Diane Long, Former Head of Adidas China & Liz Claiborne China

Tarun Masapeta, Thunderbird Graduate Student

Don't miss this opportunity to deepen your understanding of one of the most significant global partnerships of our time.

Event Agenda

4:00 pm | Opening Remarks from Global Ties Arizona & Thunderbird School of Global Management

4:15 pm | Commentary on the National Conversation & Attendee Discussion facilitated by Dr. Doug Guthrie

Please note that the full national conversation will not be viewed at this year’s event. The national conversation will be available for full viewing via the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations’ website beginning on April 10th. Attendees are encouraged to view in advance as desired. Only portions will be replayed at the local event.

5:00 pm | Panel & Local Discussion featuring China Experts

6:00 pm | Networking Reception at Thunderbird Pub

7:30 pm | Event conclusion

Parking Information:

Metered street parking is available around Thunderbird School of Global Management. Additionally, guests can park in the UCENT and EVB Parking Garages. Please note that validation is not available.

UCENT Garage Map | University Center Garage (92 E Polk St, Phoenix, AZ 85004) - Download the Parking Map here
EVB Garage Map | Taylor St. Garage (460N N 3rd St, Phoenix, AZ 85004) - Download the Parking Map here

Featured Speaker for the National Conversation

Dr. Kurt Campell | Deputy Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State

Dr. Kurt M. Campbell was confirmed by the Senate on February 6, 2024, and sworn in as the 22nd Deputy Secretary of State on February 12, 2024. Prior to assuming this position, Deputy Secretary Campbell served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs on the National Security Council.

He was previously founding chairman and CEO of The Asia Group, LLC, a strategic advisory and capital management group. From 2009 to 2013, Campbell served as the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Earlier, he was the CEO and co-founder of the Center for a New American Security and concurrently served as the director of the Aspen Strategy Group and chairman of the Editorial Board of the Washington Quarterly. Among the other positions he has held during his distinguished career, Campbell served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Affairs, White House Fellow at the Treasury Department, and as Director of the Democracy Office at the National Security Council during the Clinton Administration.

Campbell was an associate professor of public policy at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and served in the U.S. Navy Reserves. He is the author or editor of ten books including The Pivot: The Future of American Statecraft in Asia, Difficult Transitions: Why Presidents Fail in Foreign Policy at the Outset of Power, and Hard Power: The New Politics of National Security.

Campbell received his B.A. from the University of California, San Diego, and his doctorate in international relations from Brasenose College at Oxford University where he was a Distinguished Marshall Scholar. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Award.

Event Moderator

Dr. Doug Guthrie | Director of China Initiatives & Professor, Thunderbird School of Global Management at ASU

Doug Guthrie is an expert in international business and trade, technology and society, entrepreneurship and technology transfer, and organizational development.

Guthrie uses his past experience in his teaching at ASU since he was a senior director at Apple in Shanghai, China, where he led Apple University efforts on leadership and organizational development in China.

Guthrie is a professor and the director of China Initiatives at the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

He has spent his career researching, writing, teaching and advising companies about organizational development and the Chinese economic reforms.

He received an AB in East Asian languages (concentration in Chinese literature) from the University of Chicago and MA and PhD degrees in organizational sociology from the University of California, Berkeley. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, he studied in Taipei, Taiwan, during his undergraduate years and conducted PhD research in Shanghai, China. He has authored and edited books, academic articles, popular articles, reports on Chinese economic reform, leadership and corporate social responsibility, and strategic economic development in American cities.

Local Discussion Panelists

Dr. Craig Calhoun | Professor of Social Sciences at Arizona State University

Craig Calhoun is a comparative and historical sociologist, social theorist, and scholar, known for his interdisciplinary work in anthropology, communications, economics, history, international studies, political science, philosophy, and science and technology studies. His latest book, “Degenerations of Democracy,” co-authored with Charles Taylor and Dilip Gaonkar, was published by Harvard University Press in 2022. He edited “The Green New Deal and the Future of Work” with Benjamin Fong (Columbia University Press, 2022) and has collaborated with former students to create widely used anthologies covering classical and contemporary sociological theory. Calhoun has authored nine books and published over 150 peer-reviewed papers, articles, and chapters.

Calhoun currently serves as the University Professor of Social Sciences at Arizona State University. Prior to joining ASU, he served as president and director of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), president of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), and president of the Berggruen Institute. Calhoun has taught at Columbia University, NYU, where he founded the Institute for Public Knowledge, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he also served as dean of the graduate school and directed the University Center for International Studies. In addition, he has been a visiting professor at universities and institutes in the U.S. and abroad, including in Asmara, Beijing, Bristol, Khartoum, Oslo, and Paris, and as an Einstein Fellow in Berlin.

Calhoun's research focuses on contemporary transformations, possible futures, and the political economy of the modern world-system. He is also committed to studying universities and knowledge institutions, democracy, and shifting structures of social solidarity. In his philosophical pursuits, Calhoun explores the relationship between transformation and transcendence in understanding human existence.

Calhoun is actively engaged in advancing political, economic, and social democracy locally, nationally, and internationally. Calhoun serves on the board of the MasterCard Foundation, the American Assembly, the Center for Transcultural Studies, the Pulaski Institution, and Reset Dialogues. Calhoun is also active in speaking and supporting programs for a range of organizations and communities in Arizona, elsewhere in the US, and internationally.

Diane Long | Principal, Xanadu-Asia & Co-Founder, On Global Leadership

For over three decades, Diane has had a ringside seat at what can only be described as an economic revolution. Arriving in China’s Anhui Province in 1985, she didn’t understand what economic reform was—let alone what it looked like. Diane’s unique and diverse skill set was developed in the cauldron of a forever-changing landscape as China marched forward with reforms at a scale and speed never before seen in history. Diane has previously held C-suite positions in global corporations such as Liz Claiborne and Adidas as well as executive roles in start-ups. During the ‘90s, she guided multinational corporations in the first stage of market entry, most notably identifying partners, markets, and teams. Currently, she serves as the Managing Director of Xanadu Enterprise, a bilingual, bi-cultural China market-entry firm that provides a range of consulting and operational services to support companies in various stages of entering and operating in the China market. Her breadth and depth of experience enables her to assist both first-to-market as well as established firms.

Tarun Masapeta | Graduate Student, Thunderbird School of Global Management

Tarun Masapeta is an MGM student at Thunderbird School of Global Management from India. He is the President of the Campus Ambassadors at Thunderbird and the Vice President of the Foreign Policy Initiative at Thunderbird. In May 2021, he founded Project EIFL (Educate India Financially) which educates high-school students living in low-income households on financial literacy.