On Monday 08 March 2010 Frank Lavin, Chairman, Public Affairs Practice, Edelman Asia Pacific, Former Under Secretary for International Trade, US Department of Commerce spoke on “US-China Relations”.
Watch the Speech and the Q&A Session
Frank Lavin concentrated on the impact of issues such as the Dalai Lama visit to Washington, Taiwan arms sales, trade disputes, currency friction, and the Copenhagen Conference, on the bilateral relationship between the US and China. In doing so, Mr Lavin addressed the following questions:
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To what extent are these issues outside the norm of US-China relations?
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Does China have a new-found assertiveness because of the U.S.' economic problems?
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What are the distinctive attributes of President Obama's approach to these issues?
Frank Lavin serves as Chairman of the Public Affairs Practice for Edelman Asia Pacific, the world’s largest independent public relations firm. As Chairman, Lavin works with companies across the region as they grapple with regulatory challenges and sensitive government relations issues.
In government, Lavin served as Under Secretary for International Trade at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 2005-07. In this capacity, Lavin served as lead trade negotiator for both China and India and was the senior policy official in the Department responsible for commercial policy, export promotion, and trade negotiations across the globe.
Lavin was U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore from 2001-05, where his duties included helping negotiate the landmark U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement.
In the private sector, Lavin served in senior finance and management positions in Hong Kong and Singapore with Cushman & Wakefield Investors Asia, Bank of America, and Citibank.
Lavin earned a B.S. from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University; a M.S. in Chinese Language from Georgetown University; a M.A. in International Relations and International Economics from the School of Advanced International Studies at the Johns Hopkins University; and a M.B.A. in Finance at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
He has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and other periodicals.
This discussion was moderated by Nigel Inkster, Director of Transnational Threats and Political Risk at the IISS. It took place in the Lee Kuan Yew Conference Room at Arundel House, 13–15 Arundel Street, Temple Place, London WC2R 3DX.
